Chapter 5

The swordsmanship Jang Il had learned from his first master, Oh Mun, was known as the Sixteen Battle Sword.

What made this art unique was that, although everyone began with the same foundation, no two practitioners ended up with the same sword.

As its name suggested, it was a sword art specialized entirely for real combat.

It grew only through actual life-and-death battles.

To obtain true substance, one inevitably had to abandon rigid form.

That was the natural outcome of pursuing genuine effectiveness.

Because of this characteristic, the Thousand Sword Sect also referred to the Sixteen Battle Sword as “the sword of ten men, ten colors”—a sword that became different for every practitioner.

By chance, Moon Kang once caught Jang Il practicing the Sixteen Battle Sword.

His reaction had been rather strange.

“Cough… Interesting. A sword that blooms only on the battlefield.”

He spoke as though he had never seen it before.

For a brief moment, Jang Il wondered if he had somehow joined another sect that merely shared the same name.

Fortunately…

That wasn’t the case.

“Whoever created this sword must have walked a path similar to mine. Unfortunately… it seems they never obtained true substance.”

“…”

At the time, Jang Il had been too confused to respond.

Seeing his silence, Moon Kang quietly lifted the wooden sword he carried.

It had been specially made because his prolonged illness had left him terribly frail.

To reduce its weight, nearly everything unnecessary had been stripped away.

Its appearance was pitiful.

Yet…

The moment Moon Kang held it…

Everything changed.

Shhhhhh…

Like mist spreading through the air…

An indescribable aura flowed from the wooden sword, swallowing the space around it.

Gulp.

Jang Il had witnessed this several times already.

Yet every single time, it left him speechless.

After all…

Moon Kang wasn’t using his internal energy.

When Jang Il once asked how such a thing was possible, Moon Kang answered as though it were nothing special.

“Once you realize that your sword is no different from yourself, this happens naturally. Of course, if you lack the strength to wield it, then it’s nothing more than an empty cart making a great deal of noise. Don’t become fascinated by things like this.”

It was exactly the sort of answer one would expect from a master who had broken a thousand swords through real combat.

However…

Had a practitioner of the Dao witnessed that sword…

They would have been even more astonished than Jang Il.

Because what Moon Kang displayed could only be achieved by someone who had reached the supreme realm known as Unity of Self and Object.

In the world of swordsmen, it was often called the Sword of the Heart.

Had illness not crippled him…

He could have dominated the martial world with a single sword.

Having expanded his consciousness through death, Jang Il instinctively recognized the terrifying depth hidden within that seemingly ordinary movement.

Ignoring Jang Il’s astonishment…

Moon Kang performed the Sixteen Battle Sword three separate times.

Remarkably…

Each performance was completely different from Jang Il’s version.

One might assume this was simply because the Sixteen Battle Sword naturally evolved differently for every practitioner.

But that wasn’t what made it shocking.

The forms themselves were changing.

The first performance still resembled the original.

By the second…

The number of techniques had nearly doubled.

Then, during the third…

It returned to sixteen techniques once again.

Yet every movement had transformed.

Its changes…

Its hardness…

Its softness…

Every aspect had deepened several times over.

Simply put…

The Sixteen Battle Sword, once merely a first-rate sword art…

Had become a manual worthy of the Peak Realm.

Had anyone failed to witness the transformation with their own eyes…

No one would have guessed it originated from the Sixteen Battle Sword.

“Ah…”

Jang Il unconsciously gasped.

Moon Kang looked at him with tired eyes.

“Interesting. My own principles blended into it so easily. Someone unfamiliar with it might think this sword was modeled after mine from the beginning.”

“…!!”

To Moon Kang, it had been nothing more than idle curiosity.

To Jang Il…

It answered a question that had long troubled him.

So that’s why Master doesn’t recognize the Sixteen Battle Sword…

Senior Brother created it.

And that guess was correct.

Moon Chu had inherited an extraordinary father.

Unfortunately…

He had inherited none of Moon Kang’s fierce temperament.

Had he pursued the teachings of the Dao instead, he might have become an exceptional martial artist.

But a killing sword forged through endless battles simply didn’t suit him.

After Moon Kang’s death…

Moon Chu spent the rest of his life honoring his father’s memory.

Drawing upon the teachings he had received during his father’s lifetime…

He created a new sword art.

That sword art…

Was the Sixteen Battle Sword.

That was why Moon Kang had said it had failed to attain true substance.

Now…

For the first time…

The Sixteen Battle Sword had fully blossomed beneath its true source.

Jang Il couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

He alone would ever know this incredible truth.

After examining the sword his son had created—and he himself had elevated—Moon Kang spoke happily.

“Perhaps Heaven truly is helping us. This Sixteen Battle Sword will serve as an excellent textbook to guide you.”

From then on…

He changed the way he taught.

His Killing Sword was best transmitted through direct sparring.

Unfortunately…

His body could no longer withstand it.

Although his renewed passion had improved his health…

It wasn’t a miracle cure.

Whenever he overexerted himself…

He needed several days of complete rest.

Efficiency no longer mattered.

With the Sixteen Battle Sword, however…

Even if learning became slower…

Jang Il could still glimpse the profound truths hidden within Moon Kang’s Killing Sword.

Moon Kang’s role became that of a guide.

Whenever Jang Il failed to understand something…

He explained it.

Whenever explanation wasn’t enough…

He demonstrated it through sparring.

“When you finally complete this sword…”

“…only then will you truly place the Killing Sword into your blade.”

“And once that happens…”

“You will finally begin your own sword.”

Those words felt unimaginably distant to the current Jang Il.

He simply nodded.

Only half a month later…

Everything changed again.

Moon Kang became greedy.

He wished to pour even more of his life’s understanding into a single sword art.

The result…

Was the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Hands.

The reason for its unusual name was simple.

Moon Kang loved plum blossoms.

Flowers that bloomed before all others, enduring the bitter cold of early spring.

Five plum trees stood within the sect grounds.

As winter passed and the blossoms finally opened…

Watching them burst into life…

Moon Kang suddenly experienced enlightenment.

“So this is the profound truth of the Living Sword.”

“To think the end of the Killing Sword would lead to the Living Sword…”

“What a strange truth.”

The sword art he created surpassed even his expectations.

Unfortunately…

It also became vastly more difficult.

Still…

Moon Kang believed Jang Il could master it.

Perhaps not his own son.

But Jang Il…

Whose natural temperament was of the highest caliber.

“The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Hands pursues the principle that the formless overcomes form.”

No-form surpasses form.

A paradox.

A sword without techniques defeats one with techniques.

It was a philosophy that completely defied common sense.

Naturally…

Its method of cultivation was equally strange.

“The essence of this sword art lies in erasing its own techniques.”

“When you reduce the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Hands to only twelve forms…”

“…you will have reached minor completion.”

Seven stars.

If it became nine forms…

It would reach eight stars.

If only three remained…

Nine stars.

Finally…

Should everything be reduced to a single strike…

The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Hands would be complete.

Moon Kang even remarked that these stages could each be considered separate sword arts.

The Twelve Plum Blossom Sword.

The Nine Plum Blossom Sword.

The Three Plum Blossom Sword.

Then he quietly added,

“If… you can even transcend that final strike…”

“…you will obtain the Living Sword I discovered in my final years.”

Even so…

Moon Kang didn’t truly believe Jang Il could reach that realm.

He himself had only attained it after being forced to let go of everything.

Unless Heaven permitted it…

Such a realm was impossible.

Thus…

Jang Il’s true training under Moon Kang began.

It was so brutal that anyone watching would have shuddered.

From the moment he opened his eyes…

Until he collapsed into sleep…

A sword never left his hands.

Had Moon Chu and his fellow disciples not secretly supported him…

Jang Il could never have endured it.

Despite such hellish training…

He never complained.

Moon Kang could collapse at any moment.

Under those circumstances…

Even the smallest luxury of rest was too precious.

Time passed.

Spring ended.

Summer arrived.

Then…

As autumn approached—the very season when he had first fallen into this world—

Jang Il…

Awakened from the dream.

“…Haa… haa…”

He shot upright, breathing heavily.

Confusion flooded his mind.

Had this happened before his resurrection…

He would likely have remained dazed for days.

But now…

His expanded consciousness allowed him to regain control quickly.

His breathing gradually steadied.

Less than a quarter of an hour later…

He finally understood what had happened.

“The power I received isn’t simply resurrection.”

“It seems death split me into two…”

“And one half was sent into the past.”

There was something else he realized.

The dream he had experienced…

Hadn’t merely been a dream.

It had been an entire year lived by his other self.

I’m not completely certain…

But until that other me dies…

These dreams will probably continue.

Even while reaching that conclusion…

Jang Il couldn’t help wondering what kind of divine power he possessed.

What sort of ability could produce something so utterly impossible?

Unfortunately…

Since the system notification had only appeared after his death…

He had no way of knowing.

Eventually…

He gave up trying to understand it.

Whatever the truth…

The power was clearly benefiting him.

Tap.

Having calmed himself…

Jang Il immediately picked up his sword.

There was still plenty of time before the morning meal was distributed.

Perfect for practice.

Instead of performing the familiar Sixteen Battle Sword…

He began practicing the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Hands.

Swish…

Shhk!

To his own astonishment…

The sword flowed naturally.

Of course…

He hadn’t trained with the same insane intensity as his other self.

The force behind the techniques was nowhere near the same.

Yet…

The profound principles contained within the sword were identical.

As a result…

Jang Il’s martial skill advanced dramatically.

Yesterday…

He hadn’t even deserved to be considered a third-rate martial artist.

Over a single night…

He had already reached a level approaching the second-rate class.

If he continued training like the Jang Il in his dreams…

It wouldn’t be long before he truly entered the ranks of second-rate experts.

Perhaps because of that…

Greed took hold of him.

He became completely absorbed in practice.

By the time he finally regained his senses…

The sun was already setting.

Leaving his tent to collect his meal…

He found Zhang Pae approaching him with an expression of utter disbelief.

“My, my. Being young really is something.”

“I can barely drag myself out of bed every morning.”

“…Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope.”

“I’m just heading there now.”

“Honestly… if today’s food tastes just as bad, I’m going to complain.”

“I mean, come on.”

“The least they could do is season it properly, don’t you think?”

“You’re right.”

Although he answered that way…

Jang Il honestly didn’t care what the food tasted like.

Having grown up in poverty…

As long as his stomach was full…

That was enough for him.