Chapter 72
His Prime Returns with the First Snow
Baek Socheon immersed himself in the Dragon Spring and began by circulating his energy and regulating his breathing.
A fragrant medicinal aroma drifted from the box containing the two Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Roots he had received from the Alliance Leader.
Each root was an elixir capable of granting sixty years of internal energy if all of its medicinal efficacy could be absorbed. Previously, when Baek Socheon had consumed a Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root, he had gained only twenty years of internal energy—one-third of the full sixty years.
But things would be different now.
The Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method had reached the Fourth Star, and he also had the Dragon Spring.
He should be able to gain at least a few more years of internal energy than before.
Baek Socheon consumed one root first, then focused his mind and began circulating his energy.
The one hundred and one years of internal energy already within him surged vigorously through his entire body, beginning to dissolve and absorb the medicinal power of the Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root.
Ssssss.
Eventually, Baek Socheon absorbed every trace of medicinal efficacy contained within the root.
A vast and powerful energy merged with his existing internal energy.
Twenty-four years of pure internal energy.
He had gained four years more than the twenty years he would normally have obtained.
“Good!”
Baek Socheon consumed the second Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root as well.
This time, he recovered one year more than before.
Twenty-five years of internal energy.
Together, the two roots had given him forty-nine years.
Added to his original one hundred and one years, Baek Socheon now possessed a full one hundred and fifty years of internal energy.
At his former peak, he had possessed three sixty-year cycles—one hundred and eighty years of internal energy.
However, his current internal energy was vastly purer than it had been back then.
That meant it would be fair to say that he had now completely regained the strength of his former prime.
No.
In fact, he was stronger than before.
The superior purity of his internal energy was more than enough to compensate for a difference of thirty years. On top of that, he was now learning martial arts hailed as the greatest of all time.
Whether in internal cultivation or external martial prowess, he had surpassed his former peak.
Baek Socheon climbed out of the Dragon Spring and raised his internal energy.
Whoooosh!
Heat radiated from his body, instantly evaporating every drop of water clinging to him.
When Baek Socheon stretched out a hand, his clothes flew toward him.
He extended both arms, and the garments moved as though they were alive, dressing him on their own.
He held out his hand again.
This time, the Ghost Shadow Sword flew from its sheath and into his grasp.
Baek Socheon poured his internal energy into the Ghost Shadow Sword to the absolute limit.
The sword’s cry changed.
A ghostly wail far more terrifying than before echoed throughout the stone chamber.
That sound alone gave Baek Socheon certainty.
He had become stronger than before.
“Hahahahaha!”
His delighted laughter reverberated throughout the Heavenly Dragon Secret Grounds.
Now, he felt that he could truly fight Yeomhwasin head-on.
If Yeomhwasin were still the man he had been before, Baek Socheon was confident he could defeat him now.
He even knew that Yeomhwasin’s heart was not located where it normally should be.
But if Yeomhwasin had truly achieved the Diamond Indestructible Body, Baek Socheon still wasn’t confident that he could win.
There was only one way to defeat him with certainty.
Reach Great Completion in the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
Could he achieve Great Completion before spring arrived?
Even for Baek Socheon, it was an unreasonable goal.
But he had no other choice at the moment.
His only source of hope was that the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword consisted of just seven sword forms.
For now, I’ll simply do everything I can.
If even his best efforts weren’t enough, then there was nothing more he could do.
Baek Socheon left the Heavenly Dragon Secret Grounds.
It was time to begin training in earnest.
He needed somewhere he could freely use all of his internal energy without drawing anyone’s attention.
After packing food into a leather pouch, Baek Socheon headed for a place where he had once trained in the past.
He had discovered it during his time as Commander of the Iron Sword Corps and used to visit whenever he wanted to train without anyone knowing.
Ordinary martial artists could not reach the place.
One had to locate a hidden path and cross a sheer cliff.
Baek Socheon lightly leapt across the precipice.
As he sliced effortlessly through the fierce winds rushing between the cliffs, he once again felt that he had truly returned to his old self.
Soon, after passing through a dense forest, he arrived at a clearing.
Towering cliffs surrounded it on every side, and the area itself was enormous, making it ideal for solitary training.
“Ah, this place hasn’t changed at all!”
Baek Socheon smiled at the unchanged scenery.
It felt as though an old friend were welcoming him home.
His true martial arts training began there.
Baek Socheon changed the way he allocated his training time.
He now devoted one-tenth of it to the Immovable Wisdom King Heart Method, two-tenths to the Heaven-Shattering Nine Fists, and the remaining seven-tenths to the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
His training from this point onward was completely different from before.
Whether practicing the Heaven-Shattering Nine Fists or the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword, he now poured internal energy into them without restraint and trained them properly.
After calming his mind through energy circulation and breathing regulation, he loosened his body with the Heaven-Shattering Nine Fists.
Finally, he drew the Ghost Shadow Sword and engraved the sword art’s mnemonic formula into his mind.
Once ready, Baek Socheon leapt into the air and swung his sword.
Fourth Form—
Heavenly Authority Form.
As though the authority of heaven itself were descending like bolts of lightning, seven sword trails created by Baek Socheon plunged downward.
Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak!
How is anyone supposed to defend against swords descending this quickly?
Even Baek Socheon, the one executing the technique, almost felt sorry for whoever would have to face it.
What if it were me?
Could he stop it?
If he were on the receiving end of his own attack, he didn’t think he could.
Not with his old sword techniques.
Not even with the first three forms of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
There was simply no method among them capable of blocking this attack.
Every new form he learned sent a thrill through him.
It wasn’t difficult.
No—it was difficult, yet somehow it didn’t feel difficult at all.
If enduring hardship allowed him to wield martial arts like this, he could withstand any suffering.
And so Baek Socheon’s training continued.
Time passed.
Ten days had gone by since he arrived.
Shiiiiing!
The Ghost Shadow Sword rotated around Baek Socheon with a sharp whistle through the air.
The sword trails that had previously thrust, slashed, and descended in straight lines curved for the first time.
Fifth Form—
Heavenly Origin Form.
The sword spun through the air, tearing through it at a speed even greater than that of the first four forms.
Five days after entering this secluded place, Baek Socheon had perfectly mastered the Fourth Form of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword.
And ten days after that, today, he finally conquered the Fifth Form as well.
He executed the Fifth Form flawlessly.
What was even more astonishing was that he completed the entire sequence before the motion of the First Form had even fully ended.
To an ordinary person, this chained technique would probably appear like this:
In a single flash, more than thirty sword trails would simultaneously appear before their eyes and vanish.
While practicing the Fourth and Fifth Forms of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Asura Divine Sword, Baek Socheon came to one major realization.
Until now, he had underestimated the effects of his Body Reformation.
He had been so pleased simply to regain his internal energy that he had failed to understand the transformation’s true benefits.
The reason he could execute the techniques through the Fifth Form at such incredible speed was undoubtedly because he could now generate internal power instantly from every part of his body.
His Body Reformation was a transformation perfectly suited to martial arts that pursued extreme speed.
The more he trained, the deeper he fell under the charm—
No, the spell—
of the Swift Sword.
The faster his own movements became, the slower everything else seemed by comparison.
Baek Socheon’s heart pounded.
It trembled at what he had already accomplished.
And it trembled again at what he still had to accomplish.
Now, however, an enormous wall stood before him.
He had raced through the first five forms, yet beginning with the Sixth Form, he could not understand at all how the technique was meant to be executed or how his internal energy was supposed to flow.
It was almost as though the martial art itself were telling him:
You humans may learn only this far.
But Baek Socheon did not think of that wall as something trying to obstruct him.
The Sixth and Seventh Forms must surely be waiting desperately as well.
Waiting for someone to cross that wall and finally reach them.
Just wait. I’ll master you no matter what!
He would turn this wall into a stepping stone toward the next level.
***
“It’s cold. You should come inside now.”
At Im Chung’s words, his son Chan briefly stopped training.
“I’ll practice for just another half-hour before I come in.”
Lately, Chan had become completely absorbed in martial arts training.
Whenever Im Chung had time, he asked Beonsaeng to teach Chan.
Teaching one’s own child was far more difficult than he had expected, and more importantly, Beonsaeng’s skill and talent far surpassed his own.
Baek Socheon had taught the two of them martial arts on the same day, yet there was already a considerable gap between Chan and Beonsaeng.
Im Chung always felt bad about repeatedly imposing on Beonsaeng, but this concerned his son’s future, so he had little choice.
Fortunately, Beonsaeng always taught Chan cheerfully, something Im Chung was deeply grateful for.
“Father, it’s cold. Please go inside.”
“I’ll go in after a little while. Don’t worry about me and keep training.”
Watching his son grow day by day filled Im Chung with countless thoughts.
He felt proud.
At the same time, he worried about whether the boy would be able to survive well in this harsh martial world.
Whenever those worries surfaced, his wife, Madam Ju, would encourage him to trust in the destiny their son had been born with.
Im Chung had thought he would go inside after a short while, but in the end, he remained there until Chan finished his training.
“You worked hard.”
The two walked home side by side.
“You want to join the Martial Alliance?”
“Yes. Once I’m skilled enough, I want to take the entrance examination.”
“Isn’t it still too early?”
“Since I’ve already decided what I want to do, I think there’s nothing wrong with joining early.”
Im Chung had always thought of him as just a child, yet the boy was already saying surprisingly mature things.
Even so, Im Chung privately thought it was still too soon.
Even if Chan became skilled enough, he intended to wait until the boy was older before allowing him to join.
“Go inside and rest.”
“Yes, Father.”
After Chan entered the house, Im Chung remained outside for a moment and looked up at the sky.
It felt as though autumn had only arrived a few days ago, yet winter was already here.
“I wonder what Big Brother is doing these days.”
It felt like well over a month had passed since he had last seen Baek Socheon.
Then a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
“I’ve been busy.”
Startled, Im Chung spun around.
Baek Socheon was standing there.
“Big Brother? When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
In truth, he had arrived much earlier.
From a distance, Baek Socheon had been watching Im Chung observe Chan’s training.
Watching Chan practice while Im Chung quietly looked on had calmed Baek Socheon’s heart.
It almost felt cleansing.
The sight seemed to be telling him, a man who had become obsessed with growing stronger:
Wait a moment. Think about why you’re training in the first place.
Baek Socheon thought martial arts were similar to money in certain ways.
Having a great deal of money made life easier and offered peace of mind, but that didn’t mean money directly brought happiness.
Martial arts were the same.
Being powerful made life easier and gave one a sense of security, but strength alone did not lead to happiness.
Yeomhwasin was proof enough.
And Baek Socheon didn’t think he himself was all that different.
If someone asked him,
Are you happy?
Could he answer yes without hesitation?
The very fact that such a question occurred to him probably meant that he was standing at least one step away from happiness.
“Thanks to you, I can leave my position without worrying.”
“What have I even done?”
“I’m not saying it just to be polite.”
Im Chung looked at Baek Socheon.
They hadn’t even known each other for a full year.
But Im Chung knew that Baek Socheon meant those words sincerely.
He felt the same.
Some people became precious because you had known them for a long time.
Others could earn your deepest trust regardless of how little time you had spent together.
“Thank you for thinking of me that way.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not telling you to work even harder.”
“What?”
“I’m actually telling you not to spend your whole life working. When I look back on my past, all I remember is fighting. I don’t regret it, but if I were given another life, it isn’t the life I would choose again. So you shouldn’t live only for work either.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
It happened at that exact moment.
Something fell from the sky and landed on Baek Socheon’s head.
Both men looked upward.
“Huh? It’s snowing.”
Snowflakes fluttered down like dancing petals.
The first snow of the year.
Im Chung gazed at the sky with delight.
“Ah, it’s the first snow!”
After staring upward for a moment, Im Chung turned toward Baek Socheon.
“Big Brother, do you like snow? Huh? Big Brother? Big Brother!”
Baek Socheon had already vanished.
“What could be so urgent that he left without even saying goodbye?”
Im Chung headed inside and shouted loudly,
“Chan! It’s snowing! It’s the first snow!”