Chapter 277: Chapter 277
“White Tiger Charge!”
At one child’s shout, nearly twenty children carried out the exact same movement.
“““Hah!”””
Then the child controlling the Sword Formation shouted once more.
“White Tiger Stone-Shattering!”
“““Hah!!!”””
SHRINGINGINGING!
Dozens of Illusion Swords poured out from the swords thrust forward all at once.
A feast of Illusion Swords swept in every direction, as though a storm of blades had risen around the Sword Formation.
Originally, judged by each child individually, they were nowhere near the level where they could unfold Illusion Swords like that. Yet inside the Sword Formation, they all seemed to wield Illusion Swords as though they had become first-rate masters.
The Twin Heaven Sword Formula, unfolded simultaneously by nearly twenty people, was more than enough to make anyone watching feel threatened.
It was to the point that even Kang Chae-seok, counted as the strongest in the Taeul Sect, had to wonder whether he could handle it if he were surrounded within that Sword Formation.
‘Urgh…’
Of course, since he was in the position of teaching the children, he could not test it out, as he could not show himself being defeated by the Sword Formation for the sake of his dignity.
However, after crossing blades against a Sword Formation formed by five first-generation disciples, he concluded that breaking the Sword Formation was difficult. After that, he set aside even more firmly any thought of opposing a Sword Formation unfolded by the third-generation disciples.
‘Just what in the world did that Jin So-un leave behind?’
To begin with, the White Tiger Sword Formation was not even a martial art of the Taeul Sect.
For that reason, they had never taught it to the children, nor had they told the children to learn it.
However, after the three Gold-Silver-Copper brothers trained in the White Tiger Sword Formation as though their lives depended on it, they went out and earned the titles of the Iron-Blood Three Dragons, and later the Iron Wall Three Dragons. From then on, learning the White Tiger Sword Formation spread among the children like a game.
It was not mere dabbling out of simple curiosity.
Just as the three Gold-Silver-Copper brothers had done, they trained with their ears sealed and their eyes sealed.
‘It is fortunate we sealed the gates…’
To begin with, the training method the three Gold-Silver-Copper brothers had used also defied common sense.
Yet beyond that, seeing the bizarre sight of all the Taeul Sect disciples immersing themselves in such training had left him constantly anxious that word of this scene might spread to the world.
‘This is all because of that damned Jin So-un…’
However, after they began such grueling training, the children’s rate of growth started improving dramatically.
Since masters and disciples were both learning the Taeul True Scripture at the same time, the children thirsted for instruction, but the masters could not teach them proper training.
Whenever a child ran into a wall, the masters would ponder for two straight days and nights before barely managing to teach them. That had become routine.
With the situation as it was, the thirst of these curiosity-filled children did not disappear, and naturally, their eyes turned to the White Tiger Sword Forms left behind by Jin So-un and the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers.
When he had been in the Murim Alliance, Kang Chae-seok had also learned the White Tiger Sword Forms, but the White Tiger Sword Forms themselves possessed nothing special.
However, the White Tiger Sword Forms currently being learned by the Taeul Sect disciples contained something different, something special.
“White Tiger Piercing Fang!”
SHRINGINGINGING!
Illusion Swords unfolded and filled the entire training ground.
Its power was so great that it was hard to believe it was a Sword Formation unfolded by children who had not even reached twenty.
‘Just what kind of Sword Formation is this?’
Illusion Swords were a martial art that consumed a great deal of internal energy.
Ordinary children would have difficulty even producing an Illusion Sword, yet once they entered the sword forms, they drew them out one after another.
According to Jegal Cheon-gi, the improved White Tiger Sword Forms contained the effects of Moving Exercise, allowing even children who lacked internal energy to use Illusion Swords, or something to that effect.
In any case, the current daily life of the Taeul Sect consisted of studying alone and cultivating the Taeul True Scripture based on the sensations they felt within the White Tiger Sword Forms.
Today, too, the training ground was filled with children who had gathered on their own without fail.
“Stop!!!”
The child forming the center of the Sword Formation continued speaking.
“From now on, we begin physical training.”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Not a single person questioned the order.
“Begin sprinting at full speed to Mount Hwaun! The last three to return will run again!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
With thunderous replies, the children rushed out of the training ground in a swarm.
“Phew…”
Only Kang Chae-seok, left alone in the empty training ground, let out a small sigh.
Since this was individual training the children carried out voluntarily after all the designated Swift Blossom Hall training had ended, Kang Chae-seok could not say anything about it. No, rather, he ought to be proud of them and praise them…
‘As their teacher, it pains me that there is no way for me to help these children.’
Then—
“Hm?”
He saw a child training alone in one corner of the training ground.
At first, the child had trained in the White Tiger Sword Forms together with the other children, but at some point, he had stopped participating in that training and had begun spending more time training alone.
Kang Chae-seok walked toward him.
“Yu-seong, what has blocked your path?”
Kang Yu-seong, who had been staring blankly into the air, suddenly came to his senses.
“Ah! Hall Master. I apologize.”
“No, there is no need to apologize…”
Kang Yu-seong hurriedly brought his hands together and calmly explained.
“I was thinking a little about Speed. In the Minor Heaven Sword Art, Speed does not pursue Speed for the sake of Illusion, does it? So conversely, I wondered what it would be like if there were another martial art capable of manifesting Extreme Swiftness.”
“Hm?”
However, as though he had already fallen into a trance, Kang Yu-seong continued explaining with a pensive expression.
“For example, it is like this. According to the Taeul True Scripture, the Minor Heaven Sword Art does not merely aim to be a sword art with fast speed, but rather the middle path. In other words, it requires the possibility of developing in either direction, whether Variation or Illusion.”
What is this child saying right now?
Did he learn a different Taeul True Scripture from me?
“Mm, well…”
“Then the Minor Heaven Sword Art can be seen not only as the center of variation, but also as a sword art possessing defensive elements. I was wondering whether there might be a way to use this Speed dramatically.”
“Uh… ah…? I-is that so?”
“As you know, Hall Master, because I am lacking, my training in the Twin Heaven Sword Formula and the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven-Earth Sword Formula is insufficient.”
Seeing Yu-seong nod his head as though ashamed, Kang Chae-seok tilted his head.
To begin with, the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven-Earth Sword Formula and the Twin Heaven Sword Formula consumed no small amount of internal energy, so they were martial arts that even he, a Hall Master, could not easily unfold.
If Yu-seong, who had yet to reach twenty, could freely unfold those sword arts, that would have been the stranger thing.
As Hall Master, Kang Chae-seok patted Yu-seong’s shoulder to comfort the child.
“That… is nothing you need to worry about. Once you grow a little older and accumulate more internal energy…”
“So I thought about it. What about Extreme Swiftness with extreme efficiency?”
“…Hm?”
What was he saying this time?
“It is like this.”
Kang Yu-seong sheathed his sword and took a sword-drawing stance.
“This is the original Minor Heaven Sword Art.”
SWISH—
Before his words had even ended, the sword shot forward swiftly, pierced the heart of an imaginary opponent, and returned.
It was a speed that could not be seen among children of Yu-seong’s age.
Before Kang Chae-seok could even marvel at it, Yu-seong sheathed the extended sword and once again assumed a sword-drawing stance.
“And this is how it would be unfolded.”
CLAAANG—
It was difficult even to grasp what had happened.
The sound had clearly rung out, and wind had followed after it.
…Yet he had not seen the trajectory of the sword’s movement at all.
When he thought of this as an enemy’s sword, a chill ran down his spine.
“Y-you created this on your own?”
“Pardon? I did not create it. I learned it from the Taeul True Scripture…”
No, that is what I am saying. I have never seen anything like that in the Taeul True Scripture.
Kang Chae-seok barely managed to close his hanging jaw and asked,
“What is its name?”
“Pardon?”
“The name of the martial art.”
Yu-seong answered with an awkward smile. He looked exactly like a boy.
“I was only thinking that Heaven-Severing Sword Art might be good… Hehe. This is embarrassing.”
Kang Chae-seok had known from the first time he taught him that the child possessed extraordinary talent.
In particular, his obsession with martial arts and his love for martial arts were boundless.
Furthermore, after Yu-seong returned from the Murong Clan as an exchange disciple, there had already been nothing left to teach him. But now, he had reached the point of creating a nonexistent martial art to compensate for his own weakness.
A genius too great for the sect to bear had rolled into their midst, yet they had ended up standing in the way of that genius’s future.
When Kang Chae-seok remained silent with a stiff face, Kang Yu-seong began watching his expression.
“Um… did I perhaps do something wrong?”
“…Yes.”
“Pardon?”
At last, a light mixed with shame and resolve rose over Kang Chae-seok’s face.
“Ah, I am not speaking of you. If there has been wrongdoing, it is we who have done wrong.”
“What does that…”
“Devote yourself even further.”
Thinking that he could no longer merely stand by and watch, Kang Chae-seok left his place and headed straight to the Sect Leader’s Hall.
From the beginning, they should never have thought of raising the children only after they themselves had grown first.
Was it not impossible for their own growth to be faster than that of their young disciples?
Rather than themselves, who were already late, the ones who had to be raised right now were the younger generation.
Those children were now in the midst of wanting to fly freely through the heavens, yet the generation of older men like him had all but bound those children’s wings tightly.
Even if they could not teach the children the techniques to fly freely, they could not continue clutching at their wings. That sense of warning rose within him.
BANG!
“Sect Leader!”
“Hm? Hall Master Kang?”
Hong Mun-gi, who had been sweating continuously in his private training ground, looked at Kang Chae-seok with puzzled eyes.
“Spiritual Pills! We need Spiritual Pills!”
This sudden mention of Spiritual Pills was like a pestle appearing in the dead of night.
The words that followed were even more incomprehensible.
“The children cannot fly. We must give them Spiritual Pills so they can fly.”
“No… Hall Master Kang. Speak in a way I can understand…”
“Spiritual Pills. Spiritual Pills are the best thing we can do.”
“No, I mean… step by step…”
“Give me Spiritual Pills! Spiritual Pills!!! I said give me Spiritual Pills!!!”
“…”
At the sight of Kang Chae-seok finally rolling around on the floor and causing a scene, Hong Mun-gi wondered whether this was an opportunity to test the martial arts he had honed so far.
“…So. You need Spiritual Pills?”
Before he had even finished his first cup, Jin Tae-san felt as though his throat had suddenly clogged.
No, were Spiritual Pills some dog droppings from the neighbor’s yard?
“Hmm, where could we obtain them? Since Shaolin Temple’s Great Reversion Pill is the most effective, should we send an inquiry there to purchase some?”
Even at Jin Tae-san’s sarcasm, Kang Chae-seok did not loosen his hardened expression.
“I am not joking.”
“…Why are your eyes like that, anyway?”
For some reason, Kang Chae-seok’s eyes had been swollen black and blue. He glanced at Hong Mun-gi, but Hong Mun-gi merely emptied his wine cup without meeting his gaze.
“…I tripped while walking.”
“The bruises look exactly like the Great Yang Fist… Does a stone use the Great Yang Fist? Or does a shovel use the Great Yang Fist?”
“I told you, I am not in the mood for jokes!”
“…Were you not the one who started with a joke?”
Otherwise, how could the words “we need Spiritual Pills” come out so easily?
However, Kang Chae-seok spoke in a voice more serious than ever.
“The children’s growth has now reached its limit. Their skill is already sufficient, but their internal energy cannot keep up. We need Spiritual Pills.”
Jin Tae-san pressed hard against his temples.
“What about Spiritual Medicines instead? Through the Wang Estate…”
BANG.
“Are you going to feed each child a whole root of Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Ginseng? Or are you going to divide Azure Stone Milk among all of them? Spiritual Pills. I said we need Spiritual Pills!”
“No, that is why I am asking where we are supposed to obtain those Spiritual Pills!”
“That is for you to solve as the Outer Hall Master.”
“…”
Has this mad bastard lost his mind?
Does he think it is over if he just says he needs something without any plan?
Then if he said they needed Sword Force masters, would those simply grow one after another?
Jin Tae-san was about to rebuke him, then stopped.
Doing something equally insane against a madman whose reason had flown away would have been a foolish act.
Instead, engraving the character for patience in his heart, he turned his head toward Hong Mun-gi.
“What do you think, Sect Leader?”
At his question, Hong Mun-gi also pressed his lips shut.
It was not as though saying anything else would solve the matter.
“Producing a Spiritual Pill is not possible merely because one has the ingredients. The Spiritual Pill of each sect must contain the unique essence of that sect. There must be a reason why sects with long histories only manage to create two or three Spiritual Pills at most.”
“That is exactly what I am saying. That is only natural, but this lunatic has lost his reason and is spouting nonsense, is he not…”
“Spiritual Pills! Spiritual Pills! Spiritual Pills!”
Seeing Kang Chae-seok chant the same words again and again, Jin Tae-san and Hong Mun-gi let out sighs.
“We could make a request to a place like a medical clan, but the cost would be no small amount.”
Sects or medical clans specializing in pharmacology sometimes created Spiritual Pills, but it was rare for those pills to perfectly match the constitution or heart method of the person who actually ordered them.
Moreover, the price was often absurdly expensive. If things went wrong, one could easily waste money for nothing and cause the family fortunes to decline.
In addition, although the Taeul Sect’s finances had improved, they were not yet at the level where they could immediately commission the production of Spiritual Pills.
Jin Tae-san tried to soothe the madman… no, his close friend.
“How about we first supply Spiritual Medicines that help increase internal energy?”
Kang Chae-seok stopped shouting, “Spiritual Pills! Spiritual Pills!” and abruptly asked in return,
“Do you know what one must be most careful about when consuming Spiritual Medicines?”
“…Qi Deviation.”
He nodded heavily.
“Spiritual Medicines are good. They are better than nothing. But if the children make even one mistake while circulating their qi… you know very well that there is no one in the Taeul Sect capable of supporting them through it.”
“…”
Kang Chae-seok wiped every trace of levity from his face.
“Do you know what state the children are in right now?”
“…”
“They have understood martial arts with their heads and bodies, but they cannot use that understanding because their internal energy cannot support it.”
It had not been long since the Taeul True Scripture had returned to the Taeul Sect.
Moreover, the Great Advance Divine Art they had mainly practiced until now was also a problem, as it was preventing their attainment in the Taeul True Scripture from advancing.
“The children who can draw out Illusion Swords are devoting themselves to the Sword Formation, and the children who can draw out Sword Qi are devoting themselves to Illusion Swords. And on top of that, Yu-seong, that boy…”
Remembering Yu-seong standing alone in the training ground, Kang Chae-seok furrowed his brow and groaned.
“He was creating another martial art by himself because of his lack of internal energy. Does that make any sense?”
Diligence by Firefly and Snow.
It was a very fine phrase, meaning to study and succeed despite difficult circumstances, but when one’s own child was placed in such a situation, a parent’s heart was torn apart.
“I know as well. I know that shouting for Spiritual Pills will not make them drop from the sky. But even though my head knows that…”
Kang Chae-seok struck his chest and lowered his head.
“My heart cannot accept the situation.”
“…”
At Kang Chae-seok’s words, spoken as he struck his chest hard enough to break it, Hong Mun-gi and Jin Tae-san could not easily open their mouths.
The two of them felt the same as Kang Chae-seok.
“…”
“…”
Silence lingered for a long while.
None of the three men raised their wine cup.
In the end, the one who broke the silence was Hong Mun-gi.
“For now, let us settle this by first feeding them Spiritual Medicines that help increase internal energy.”
“Sect Leader!”
“Please understand that point as well. Have you already forgotten that it has not been long since we became able to eat meat three times a day?”
“But Spiritual Medicines can become poison depending on one’s constitution.”
Hong Mun-gi, who had been toying with his wine cup, gripped it tightly.
“That… we must be careful about. Moreover, if we overreach and the sect’s fortunes decline again, would that not also be a problem?”
“…”
“Do not place too heavy a burden on Tae-san alone.”
At Hong Mun-gi’s words, Kang Chae-seok realized that he had been thinking only of himself and muttered,
“I am sorry, Tae-san.”
Jin Tae-san had received a whole bucketful of curses, but he knew it was because Kang Chae-seok had no other way to vent his frustration, so he slowly nodded.
“It is fine.”
The drinking resumed, but not a single one of them wore a relieved expression.
“Spiritual Medicines?”
Eun-ho’s face crumpled like a sheet of paper.
“Yes. Spiritual Medicines. We have to obtain some Spiritual Medicines on the way.”
“…”
Though the carriage tickets had been difficult to reserve, he could understand tearing them up if it was for the sake of Spiritual Medicines.
But something about those words was strange.
It was not as though Spiritual Medicines grew on their own in a field where seeds had been sown.
Just how was that Eldest Senior Brother’s head constructed… no, how could he speak so calmly of Spiritual Medicines as though they were stones one could pick up in passing?
“Do you have Spiritual Medicines stored somewhere?”
Jin So-un suddenly frowned.
“Are you ill? Who stores Spiritual Medicines somewhere?”
“…”
No, you were the one who spoke as if that were the case!
If he were not my Eldest Senior Brother, truly…!
Regardless of whether Eun-ho was seething inside or not, Jin So-un stretched and gave an order.
“In any case, there is much to prepare, so move quickly. Is this not the glorious return home you have all been waiting for?”
“…Understood. But why did you tell me to prepare these?”
What Jin So-un had ordered were palm-sized steel plates and leather sleeveless vests with pockets attached.
In addition, there were circular rings made of iron.
Looking down at them, Jin So-un grinned in satisfaction.
“What do you think? They are things I devised this time. You can place the steel plates into the leather vest and adjust the weight.”
At So-un’s detailed explanation, Eun-ho’s head tilted even further.
“Is a sleeveless vest not something one wears over a jacket when it is cold? Why would you put steel plates in it to adjust the weight?”
“Because if the body is heavier, the results of training will double.”
“…”
Eun-ho tapped his ear with his palm, wondering whether he had heard something wrong.
“When training while traveling, its efficiency is bound to fall no matter what. But if you wear this vest and these iron rings, the effect will double.”
…He had not heard wrong.
For a moment, Eun-ho fell into serious thought.
At this rate, it might be better not to return home at all.
If a man had once left his hometown to achieve success, was it not also proper boldness to refrain from returning until he had succeeded?
“Now, now. Hurry and move. Do you not see before your eyes the junior brothers who must be waiting at the sect with their necks stretched long?”
Yet before long, he resigned himself and began moving.
He hated hardship to the point of death, but he still missed his junior brothers and his parents.
‘Moreover, there is no way a person worse than Yama himself would simply allow me to remain at the academy. Phew…’
Eun-ho felt sorry for himself, having become so much quicker at giving up before he even realized it.
This winter break was busier than any before it.
There was more than one or two Spiritual Medicines that would appear this winter.
Just sweeping all of them up would consume half of the break.
Of course, they were not items comparable to the Spiritual Medicines I had eaten until now.
However, the reason these Spiritual Medicines were necessary was that they were important ingredients for making Spiritual Pills for the Taeul Sect disciples.
‘It is about time they needed them.’
Judging by the rate at which the Gold-Silver-Copper Brothers and Sa-ryeon had progressed, I could roughly estimate it.
Right now, the Taeul Sect was probably blocked by a great wall.
And what could solve this was not merely wealth or authority.
It was time: absolute and fair to everyone.
The Taeul Sect was not yet a sect with the wealth, history, or scale needed to make Spiritual Pills.
Even in the case of prestigious great sects, disciples with outstanding talent in medicine received the sect’s support and poured their entire lives into leaving behind a single method for producing a Spiritual Pill before they died.
If even prestigious great sects were like that, how could such a thing possibly be expected from a small and adorable sect like the Taeul Sect?
“But there is no need to take the orthodox route.”
When one had no teeth, one lived with one’s gums.
I left the office to find gums sturdy enough to rival teeth.
Fortunately, there was no need to go far.
Because the raw gemstone that those fools had thrown away without realizing it was a lump of gold lay right before my eyes.