Chapter v7c14

At the very moment when everyone was sweating profusely under the scorching sun during their training, there was someone in the forest who was searching the surroundings with a sharp gaze. A man with long bangs that covered his eyes, he was none other than Bi Ryu-yeon.

“Where would be good…”

His gaze, hidden by his long bangs, was careful and serious, and he even had a sense of mission. His gaze, which had been searching the thirty-six directions as if he had them in his grasp, flashed and stayed in one place. He had finally found what he was looking for. His eyes became sharp like a predator’s eyeing its prey.

‘That’s it! I finally found it!’

Bi Ryu-yeon exclaimed inwardly.

The narrow shade under the beautiful pine tree was truly a work of art. The mountain breeze that tickled his ears was also pleasant enough. It seemed hard to find a place as good as this anywhere. There was no paradise elsewhere.

“Ah, this is great! This is it!”

The sky was high, the sun was warm, and the wind was refreshing. He breathed in the lush green scent and lay down on his back under the shade. The sky he saw buried in the ground was only filled with white clouds floating leisurely.

“How peaceful!”

Peaceful?

Where in this situation, where enemies who wanted to cut off his breath as soon as possible were lurking in all directions, was peaceful? It could not have been anything but a very unique sensibility.

Bi Ryu-yeon was utterly indifferent to the sweaty training and the hot passion under the hot sun, and had been looking for a good place to nap in the shade of the burning summer sun. Moreover, his efforts had not been wasted and he had been able to find a remarkable place.

“Shall I take a nap!”

He did not care about the situation around him, and his eyelids closed slowly. The breeze that brushed his ears was peaceful. A day passed, two days passed, and three days passed.

The Ju-jakdan (Vermilion Bird Squad) and the Cheon-geom-jo ( Heavenly Sword Squad ) had enough time to prove that they were not fools. They were becoming more and more proficient as they accepted Yeom do’s teachings as time went by. Though their levels varied, the fact that their efforts yielded results was proof enough they were not fools. Yet, if there were fools among them, it would be a great insult.

Yeom do’s teaching was never easy, but they all showed small achievements.

Spiritual Unity

Mind is Qi, Qi is Mind!

Heart to Sword

Sword to Heart

It was easy to say, but nothing in the world was as difficult as practicing this word. But thanks to Yeom do’s coercive and strict education and talent, they were showing more and more achievements. The time to maintain the state of spiritual unity and sword-spirit unity was getting longer and longer. But…

‘Move! Move! Move!’

He shouted in his mind, but the water in the jar was still the same. On the fourth day, a change finally came.

A change came to the water in the jar. The water that had been cheeky and not moving at all moved. A small, round ripple appeared on the surface of the water in the jar. It was a movement of a small circle, but there was a difference as big as heaven and earth between being still and moving even a little. It was the same as saying that something was born from nothing .

His will began to gain strength. It also meant that his ability to handle qi had improved dramatically. He had no thought of moving his qi, but the qi naturally rose from his body and moved as if it had a will of its own to move the water in the jar. It was so natural that it was hard to tell how the qi moved.

Now he finally entered the beginning of the realm of unity of will, where the mind moves and the qi moves naturally. Three days had passed since something was born from nothing.

On the sixth day!

Yeom do just stood them up as soon as the sun rose. It was the last day he had promised. Judging by the murderous aura that filled the surroundings, it seemed that no more time would be given.

time passed with the graceful movement of the sun. As time went by, the complexion of the Cheon-geom-jo ( Heavenly Sword Squad ) and the Ju-jakdan ( Vermilion bird squad ) was not good. A ripple appeared on the surface of the water filled in the jar, and then the number increased by one layer at a time.

“Thud!”

When a dozen ripples began to appear, the first dropout came out. she was none other than Lee Jin-seol of the Cheon-geom-jo ( Heavenly Sword Squad ). In fact, this training was still too much for her. It was two hours after the training started.

The ripples increased by one layer at a time, and finally slowly rotated and began to swirl.

Another dropout came out. This time it was Hwa Seol-ok, a disciple of the Hawsan of the Ju-jakdan ( Vermilion bird squad ). Her delicate legs declared that they could no longer endure this training and collapsed.

She was followed by Dan Mok-su of the Dan Mok clan. It seemed that even her cheerful and lively personality could no longer endure.

“Thud!”

Another one fell to the ground. Surprisingly, this time it was a man. The first dropout among the men of the Ju-jakdan ( Vermilion bird squad ) was none other than Geum Yeong-ho of the Geumho association. His plump body finally declared surrender. Today, quite a lot of muscles must have melted away with sweat.

As soon as Geum Yeong-ho fell, another one fell with him. It was Noh Hak,who had been holding on so far, also fell. He didn’t want to be the first male member of the Ju-jakdan ( Vermilion bird squad ) to drop out, so he endured it until now. As a result, he had no more patience left.

Next, Hwangbo ok-yeon fell. As the eldest daughter of Hwangbo, she could no longer restrain her sense of responsibility and pride.

The whirlpool deepened.

As the whirlpool in the jar deepened and the speed gradually increased, the dropouts increased one by one. One by one, they lost their strength and collapsed. Their mental and physical strength had already reached their limit.

il Gong of Shaolin temple, who was the epitome of indifference, fell silently again. It had been four hours since the training started. Now, there were less than fifteen people left.

Their whole body was soaked like a person who had gone into the water and came out. Even if they did not show it, there was no need to explain

Even if they did not show it, they could feel their whole body muscles screaming from ten steps away. When it was the fifth hour, the water in the jar began to shake and overflow. The whirlpool’s rotational force began to break free from the jar’s restraint.

Sixth hour!

Those who had endured this far were monsters who demonstrated remarkable resilience. Their mental state was already pushed to the limit.

The remaining ones were now narrowed down to ten.

Among the men, there were Mo Yong-hwi, Cheong-heun, Namgung Sang, Hyun-woon, Hyo-ryong, Jang Hong, and surprisingly, Yoon Joon-ho. Among the women, there were Jin-ryeong, Namgung Sansa, and Na Yerin. They had maintained their dignity until the end As befitting the members of the Cheonmu Chilbong. The Jujakdan’s Dang Mun-hye and Mo Yong’s family Mo Yong-Chi could not endure until the end and dropped out. But they were more talented, skilled, and patient than most men. They were not the ones to be protected by men. There were too many men in this world who needed their protection.

They had forgotten their existence. The illusion of pain had already left them. The sun had already set beyond the west mountain with the twilight.

The longest-lasting person among the Jujakdan women was Jin-ryeong and Namgung Sansa. They had stayed the longest as the two of Cheonmu Chilbong. But the longest-lasting woman among the Cheonmu Academy was not them.

The water in the jar in front of them began to overflow more and more. It felt as if an invisible hand was spreading the water.

It was surprising that Yoon Joon-ho was still persistently there. The fact that he had done this much with his lack of presence was enough to surprise the people around him. He had always looked immature and dull, and there was a tendency to dislike and ignore him. But this incident proved that Yoon Joon-ho had enough qualifications to participate in the joint training.

Who would be the last one? It was a great interest to those who watched.

‘What is this?’ Mo Yong-hwi suddenly felt a strong sense of discomfort. The time around him slowed down, and everything looked clear. It was a strange feeling as if he had many eyes and could see all directions at the same time. He could hear even the slightest sound clearly. All the sounds were separated and informatized and delivered to his ears clearly. He did not feel any pain.

It was a strange and intense feeling as if lightning was piercing through his body. It was an intense feeling that he had never felt before since he saw the extreme power of the Galaxy Meteor Swordsmanship Technique.

A thrilling feeling as if lightning was piercing from the Baekhoe point on his head to the Yongcheon point on his feet! He had not been able to get that sensation again since then. That mysterious sensation came back to him now.

He was not the only one who had this unfamiliar experience. The remaining eight people had entered the realm of Mu, where they forgot their existence.

Ninth hour!

The trembling of the muscles that had been screaming and shaking stopped. The sweat that had been flowing like rain also stopped like a lie. Their bodies stopped as if time had stopped. The sweat drops that had formed on their skin cooled and flew into the air as if they had disappeared. Like a person who was asleep in silence, they stood in harmony with the silence and the darkness of the night. The sun that had been floating above their heads had long turned into the moon. The moon rose and tilted, but their movements did not change. Everyone held their breath and watched them. They looked peaceful as if they were in harmony with nature.

Compared to them, who were still and silent, the water in the jar in front of them was flowing wildly. Hyo-ryong had no intention of hiding his skills anymore. He wanted to show everything he had and confront him head-on in this training. He felt that his skills were lacking as it was. Jang Hong felt the same way. “Ah!”

Jin-ryeong, who was watching anxiously, let out a short scream. Yoon Joon-ho had finally collapsed. Jin-ryeong had dropped out with Namgung Sansa at the seventh hour and could not even move a finger now. She was just watching. Yoon Joon-ho fell very quietly. He had already lost consciousness. It was such a natural thing that he did not even know that he had collapsed for a while. There was not a drop of water left in the jar in front of him. There was a satisfied smile on his lips.

Twelfth hour!

The day was brightening. The morning sun pierced the darkness of dawn and sprinkled golden dust. A day had passed. The dawn light drove away the darkness of the night and sprinkled a flock of light.

Everyone stayed up all night.

Crack!

“Look at that!”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the jar in front of the seven people. There were still Mo Yong-hwi, Cheong-heun, Hyo-ryong, Namgung Sang, Hyun-woon, Jang Hong, and surprisingly, Na Ye-rin.

They noticed a fine crack in the jars. Their five senses had developed rapidly during the 7 days of special training. “The jar is cracking from the rough whirlpool! It can’t withstand the water pressure!”

It could break at any moment. This phenomenon was happening to all seven of them. The seven people’s eyes were not on the jar. They were looking at another place beyond that existence.

“Crack! Crack!”

The cracks that had started apearing grew and spread throughout the jar. It was like a spider web.

“Crack!”

“Crunch!”

“Boom!”

Finally, the seven people’s jars exploded as they exploded. The swirling water splashed in all directions. It was as if it was raining. The spray of water that scattered in all directions blocked their sight for a moment.

When their eyes turned back to the training ground, the result finally came out.

There was no last one in the end. The seven people who had exhausted all their physical and mental strength collapsed at the same time.

They fell asleep in harmony with the dawn light. There was a satisfied smile on their faces instead of pain. The sun shone on them, and the sound of birds announcing the morning came to their ears. The students who watched felt a feeling of chest swelling. Only then did they realize that they had passed a gate overnight.

They were different from yesterday and today. They had changed. And to a higher level! They felt proud and their chests swelled.