Chapter 2: Jin Seorin. (Final Version)

Morning training had ended, and Seorin, leaving only the eldest behind, gave the other disciples a short break.

I stood with my arms crossed.

It might sound like bragging, but I think I have a good sense for these things.

No.

It’s not just “good.” I’ve almost never been wrong.

And yet, they’re trying to deceive a teacher like that.

It’s a little insulting.

A gentle breeze stirred, lightly scattering the fallen leaves on the ground.

“Jin Seorin.”

When I called her, she quietly stood up.

She stood before me in silence, slightly bowing her head.

She’s always been calm, but today she was especially composed.

I took a breath and thought for a moment.

How in the world should I bring this up?

I’m not the type to scold harshly.

I’ve always taught with discipline, but when it comes to scolding, I find it difficult.

Rather than that, I believe it’s better to let them realize things on their own.

It’s not easy.

I suppose this is how a parent feels.

You want to scold them sternly, but when you see them like this, your heart softens.

I slowly picked up my sword.

“Pick up your sword.”

Seorin flinched ever so slightly.

But she soon raised her head and quietly took hold of her sword.

A swordsman speaks through their sword.

Jin Seorin quietly picked up her sword.

Her teacher’s voice was as calm as usual.

But for a moment, she felt her fingertips tremble slightly.

Did Teacher notice?

During training, during meals, and even just a moment ago.

He had been observing her more sharply than usual.

Jin Seorin steadied her breath and gripped her sword firmly.

‘It’s not perfect yet.’

In her past life, she had already mastered this sword technique.

She had refined it for decades and wielded it countless times in real combat.

And… there’s no way Teacher wouldn’t notice that.

If it’s Teacher, he could see everything from even the smallest movement.

Jin Seorin raised her sword, pretending to be indifferent.

‘I have to stay calm.’

But it felt like her teacher’s gaze was piercing right through her.

What if he noticed—and was disappointed?

Suddenly, Jin Seorin felt her chest tighten.

Her teacher was strong, upright, and more righteous than anyone.

What if he remembered something from her past life… and saw her as a traitor?

What if he no longer acknowledged her as his disciple?

If that happened… she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“You’re distracted.”

With a cold voice, the sword came flying at her.

Jin Seorin reflexively raised her sword in an instant, but her teacher’s sword was already breaking through her defenses.

‘So fast…!’

Jin Seorin twisted her body instinctively into a defensive stance.

But her teacher’s sword effortlessly pushed hers aside.

“A sword isn’t used with the head. Your body must respond first.”

The tip of his sword brushed past her shoulder and stopped.

Jin Seorin held her breath.

Her teacher paused for a moment.

Jin Seorin quietly steadied her breathing.

But her heart was racing.

Was she making it too obvious?

He withdrew his sword and looked at her.

“You come at me first.”

In that instant, an overwhelming killing intent burst forth.

Jin Seorin’s mind went completely blank.

This wasn’t the simple pressure one felt in the sparring grounds.

Even on the battlefield, when facing the enemy, she had never felt such a vivid sense of death.

Before her body could react, her heart tightened first.

She was already moving.

In that instant, Jin Seorin’s feet shifted lightly.

Her sword drew a natural arc.

A fierce gust of blade wind grazed the training hall.

This was, ‘Azure Wind Sword Technique, Thirteenth Form.’

The sword technique she had perfected in her past life.

Jin Seorin’s sword shot forward like lightning.

It was a skill she had completed in her previous life.

For a moment, the air sank, and the sword split the sky.

Movements without a hint of hesitation.

A killing-edge scraped the floor as it surged ahead.

A strike forged through countless battles, honed amidst blood and flesh.

Her instincts screamed.

Even Teacher wouldn’t be able to block this easily.

But.

Clang.

With a sharp metallic sound, the sword strike was blocked effortlessly.

“So this is what’s been troubling you.”

Her teacher smiled calmly, as if he had known everything all along.

Jin Seorin’s heart sank.

‘That’s impossible.’

Even if it wasn’t in perfect form, that strike shouldn’t have been blocked so easily.

Even if she hadn’t refined it to perfection like in her past life.

Teacher had deflected it far too easily.

Jin Seorin’s mind went completely blank.

‘Just who… is Teacher really…?’

Now I understand.

Why this child had been so anxious.

Why she went out and experienced real combat without even telling her teacher.

The moment Seorin’s sword flew toward me, I could feel the urgency within it.

The Azure Wind Sword Technique is originally a gentle and flowing style.

A technique meant to subdue the opponent by riding the flow, rather than using brute force.

But the strike she just showed was different.

It didn’t follow the flow—it pushed through with force.

There was a clear intent to overpower the opponent by force in that momentary strike.

I lifted my sword lightly and blocked her attack. I didn’t even need to use strength.

Clang.

Seorin’s sword stopped.

Her eyes trembled.

I let out a faint chuckle and lowered my sword.

“So this is what’s been troubling you.”

Seorin looked at me, unable to say anything.

I slowly glanced at her sword.

The Azure Wind Sword Technique isn’t supposed to be like that.

But Seorin wasn’t just using what she had learned—she had added her own color to it.

I let out a quiet laugh to myself.

‘Yes, this is just like you.’

I mean no offense to the other disciples, but when it comes to talent with the sword, Seorin is the best.

Even I wasn’t able to add my own flair to the sword at her age.

“But, that is the wrong path, Seorin.”

The path Seorin is heading toward is a fast one.

It’s the path of the outlaw—cutting down, breaking, and destroying everything in the way.

That path isn’t right.

I know it better than anyone, because I’ve walked it once myself.

There’s no helping it.

I don’t want to scold her, but as her teacher, I can’t just stand by while she walks the wrong path.

I’ll have to apply a bit of pressure.

I looked at her.

“Seorin.”

Seorin kept her stance, watching my expression.

I chuckled softly and raised my sword once again.

“If you’re confident, prove it to me.”

As I got into position, the sword in Seorin’s hand trembled slightly.

She must have a thousand thoughts running through her head right now.

But, A swordsman speaks through their sword.

I took a step forward.

“Come.”

Seorin’s sword flew at me like lightning.

This time, there was no hesitation.

It was a movement that declared: if this is the path of the outlaw, I will prove it with my sword.

In that case, I swung my sword gently.

Just before her sword could pierce me, mine lightly deflected her trajectory.

Though her sword carried strength, it was diverted like a leaf pushed by the wind.

Seorin’s eyes wavered in surprise.

But I didn’t stop.

Following the path of her sword naturally, I disrupted her center.

She tried to strike down with the force of the outlaw’s path, but my sword didn’t receive that force.

It didn’t block, nor did it clash.

It simply.

Let it flow.

Her sword was neutralized so perfectly, it gave the illusion that it had broken.

I burst into laughter.

“This is the true Azure Wind Sword Technique.”

Seorin froze in place.

The sword in her hand.

The power she had believed in without question until just now.

Felt as if it had sliced through thin air, collapsing into emptiness.

That’s what you must be feeling.

This teacher knows it all.

I lowered my sword and spoke slowly.

“The path you’re walking is one that pushes forward with force. But the wind doesn’t blow that way. The wind embraces everything—it sometimes avoids, sometimes redirects, and flows back to where it belongs. Your sword right now isn’t like the wind. It’s closer to a storm.”

Seorin pressed her lips together and stared at me.

Her expression showed she hadn’t yet accepted the reality of her sword being denied.

I slung my sword across my back and gave her a small, amused smile.

There was a time I was like that.

I sought a path that was fast and strong.

I believed that if I just broke through the wall in front of me, everything would be solved.

But even I, “…still…” I left the sentence unfinished.

Hoping that Seorin would come to understand the rest on her own.

“Now. Pick up your sword again.”

The teaching continued.

Jin Seorin stood blankly.

The sword in her hand was still trembling.

Was he always this strong?

No—was he always like this?

In her past life, She had faced countless strong opponents.

Ghost-like old swordsmen, archdemons who ruled an entire era, Even assassins who rampaged through endless battlefields.

But none of them.

None of them had ever so lightly, so effortlessly deflected her sword like the man before her now.

It wasn’t strength—it was flow.

Not suppressing, but accepting naturally.

She understood now.

Her teacher wasn’t simply strong.

She drew in a breath.

“Seorin.”

Her teacher’s voice was the same as always.

Calm and unwavering.

But now, she realized that calmness was not ordinary.

Without thinking, Jin Seorin looked at her teacher.

In that moment, a deep shadow fell over her.

The sword moved.

Her body reacted on instinct, but it wasn’t an attack.

The sword softly brushed past her shoulder, flowing like the wind.

Jin Seorin stepped back.

Her heart pounded rapidly.

‘I didn’t see it.’

The sword’s path, its flow—she couldn’t see any of it.

Just moments ago, they had crossed swords, but this time, she couldn’t read a thing.

Her teacher sheathed his sword and looked at her.

“Whatever path you choose to walk, wherever it may lead, the choice is yours. But.”

He gave a small smile.

It was relaxed, yet somehow chilling.

“I can’t stand by and watch my disciple lose her way on the wrong path.”

With those words, his sword moved again.

This time, it was different.

Like rippling waves spreading wide, it felt asif the very space was being swayed by his sword.

Jin Seorin instinctively raised her sword to block.

Clang!

The sword in her hand was knocked away.

A deep shock rippled through her shoulder.

Her teacher’s sword remained utterly steady.

Jin Seorin staggered, gasping for breath.

The path of the outlaw—Pado.

The path she walked in her past life.

Breaking, crushing, and pressing down on her opponents.

But this—this was something else.

Jin Seorin couldn’t understand.

“How… how can a sword like this…”

Her teacher gave no answer.

He simply looked at her.

And that gaze, that sword.

Felt like an even deeper wall.

For the first time, Jin Seorin realized.

That even at the height of her strength in her past life.

There existed a realm she had never reached.

And, At the end of that path, her teacher was standing.