22 – 02# Rain After Firm Ground (5)

Lately, it was true, his attention had been overwhelmingly focused on Seolhwa. Thus, he explained everything to Sua, leaving nothing out. Including the reasoning behind imparting the Azure Sword Inner Method to Seolhwa.

The Earth-Nourishing Method, the foundation of all inner methods, stemmed from the Taoist saying of “exhaling the old, inhaling the new,” signifying the expulsion of stale energies and the absorption of the fresh.

Yet, like a tree with a single root but branches that divided and multiplied, even within the orthodox sects, variations existed from inner method to inner method, influenced by affiliation and subtle nuances of the underlying martial arts.

From that perspective, the Azure Sword Inner Method imparted by the old man diverged from the conventional orthodox methods. While sects rooted in Taoism and Buddhism largely adhered to the principles of the Earth-Nourishing Method…

…the Azure Sword Inner Method did not expel impurities or toxins. Instead, it treated them as kindling, fueling a hotter, more intense flame.

This bordered on a deviant path, prioritizing strength through any means necessary. The inner method itself leaned toward orthodoxy, but even unorthodox factions possessed their own forms of internal cultivation.

It might appear inferior to the inner methods of the Murong Clan, known for their pursuit of speed, or those of other orthodox martial families. But the true worth of the Azure Sword Inner Method lay precisely in its purification.

*[However much one exhales toxins and impurities through breath, they will inevitably accumulate again. But to use those very things as fuel, to ignite an even greater flame…that is the profound secret of the Azure Sword!]*

There would always be limits to the toxins and impurities expelled through breathing exercises. But the Azure Sword Inner Method used all the detritus within the body, everything, as fuel to burn.

This led to a substantial improvement in the quality of one’s inner energy, even surpassing that cultivated through orthodox methods. It was likely this very advantage that allowed him to defeat Murong Kang, the head of the Murong Clan.

*’The gap in cultivation level was undeniable. Yet, the reasons I could prevail were Murong Kang’s loss of reason as he was consumed by dark energies, and the exceptional quality of my own inner energy.’*

Was it because he had now reached the ranks of peak experts? He could see something like blackened, writhing worms taking root in Seolhwa’s dantian, the energy center. Or rather, he felt their presence.

Initially, he had hesitated to teach Seolhwa the Azure Sword Inner Method. But the insidious poison nesting within her dantian was something he couldn’t simply ignore.

Thus, after much deliberation, he had chosen to impart the Azure Sword Inner Method to Seolhwa. After all, she had become his disciple, and poison, even if a component of the body, was ultimately harmful to a living being.

He believed that even if the Azure Sword Inner Method, which used toxins as fuel, couldn’t completely purge the poison within Seolhwa’s dantian, it would at least neutralize it to some extent.

*[Master…something feels strange.]*

*[What is it? Is something wrong?]*

*[I don’t hurt anymore. My chest ached with every breath… but now… it’s just so, so empty. Am I dying?]*

The effect was beyond expectation. The disadvantage of the Azure Sword Inner Method was that if there were no toxins or impurities to use as fuel, the speed of cultivation was even slower than orthodox methods.

But with the poison nesting within Seolhwa’s dantian serving as kindling, burning ever so brightly, the rate at which she cultivated inner energy through the method was unimaginably fast. But the story didn’t end there.

By some unknown artifice, the poison nesting in Sua’s dantian would continually replenish itself day after day, only to be burned away again by the inner method.

In short, she was the perfect vessel to perfectly counteract the Azure Sword Inner Method’s flaws. Sua’s eyes shone like stars as she listened to his explanation, a gasp of awe escaping her lips.

“So, esteemed master, you knew all along how to save Seolhwa!”

“……Aye.”

Come to think of it, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

The truth was, I’d only recently realized Seolhwa possessed the constitution of Ingo. And even then, it was only by chance, while examining her meridians as I personally instructed her.

Moreover, if I hadn’t reached the pinnacle realm during our last fight, it wouldn’t have been possible. But I didn’t want to ruin the moment by pointing that out.

I could only offer an awkward grimace and nod. Now that I had explained everything, I figured teaching Seolhwa would be a breeze.

“Um, Master?”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know why, but it’s bright over there! And there’s smoke!”

“……What?”

That was, until I heard Seolhwa’s words, she’d been waiting outside.

◇

Having already heard about the pursuers stalking Seolhwa, I easily surmised that something terrible had happened to the village and immediately moved.

Judging it more dangerous to be separated in the current situation, I absolutely didn’t forget to bring Sua and Seolhwa along.

In less than a quarter of an hour, with Sua and Seolhwa piggybacking, I arrived and witnessed the flames illuminating the darkness. It wasn’t just torches.

“Drag them all out!!”

“No exceptions. Drag out the old and the children and tie them up.”

“……Master, it’s them. The ones who kept chasing me.”

Seolhwa, recognizing the pursuers in their black robes and straw hats, trembled with fear and hid behind me. Which saved me from having to ask any further questions.

There were roughly twenty of them, and that was just counting those gathered in the plaza. Fortunately, although they had set fire to the houses, no one seemed dead, not yet.

Deciding that I couldn’t just stand by, I unsheathed my sword without hesitation. My skill far surpassed theirs, but alas, their numbers were greater.

‘The only way to overturn their numerical advantage is with an unexpected ambush.’

Cutting off even a sliver of hesitation, I dove into the fray with the speed of a soaring bird. A surprise attack they never saw coming, with a swiftness beyond their wildest imaginings.

It was like a fish finding water. In a brief instant, barely a few seconds, I had severed the necks of more than seven.

Even then, the remaining three had only survived because they were further away. Had they been closer, they surely wouldn’t have escaped beheading.

“A, an ambush!!!”

Perhaps driven by a desperate will to live, one of the pursuers squeezed out a scream with all their might, and the scattered warriors gathered together.

My expression soured slightly, and tension tightened around my eyes. These were no ordinary rabble. Each one was a properly trained, elite warrior.

Judging from the formidable aura they projected, I even suspected there might be one or more at my own peak skill level. If so, things would get difficult indeed.

‘It’s not entirely impossible. Considering what happened with the Moyeong clan before, and judging from their ruthless methods, they’re almost certainly affiliated with the Demonic Sect.’

The Demonic Sect’s martial arts, unlike those of even the Unorthodox clans who weren’t above any means to gain strength, allowed for the far quicker cultivation of masters.

It seems to be a setting often ignored these days, but reaching the pinnacle using Righteous Sect techniques typically took forty to fifty years.

Conversely, Demonic Sect arts could cut that time by more than half. Only, it came with immense danger. However, the tension weighed on their opponents as well.

‘To think, seven of the Black Inverse Gate’s elite warriors fell in that brief moment.’

‘Even a martial artist who’s reached the peak of the first-rate couldn’t achieve such a one-sided slaughter. Does that mean… could it be?’

‘Nonsense! The Righteous and Unorthodox clans have already identified all those at the pinnacle! He might be a first-rate master with a foot in the door, but never an absolute peak expert!’

The Black Inverse Gate warriors exchanged information through telepathy. Thanks to this, stuck in a stalemate as they warily watched each other, one of them spoke.

“This concerns the very survival of our sect. This is not something a wandering hero should interfere with.”

The old man who’d drawn his sword was undeniably the one they sought, but seeing his extraordinary skill, they decided they couldn’t continue like this and first needed to escape this place.

“Sect, you say?”

“Indeed.”

“How smoothly you wicked Demonic Sect dogs wag your tongues, slick with grease.”

“How did you know…?!”

But the moment the old man uttered “Demonic Sect,” the warriors were in shock. The fact that the Black Inverse Gate had allied with the Demonic Sect was a secret unknown to anyone in the Righteous and Unorthodox factions.

Yet here, in this backwater village, was an old expert who immediately recognized their connection to the Demonic Sect? In that instant, a thought flashed through the leader’s mind.

The number of people in the martial world who even knew the name of the Demonic Sect was exceedingly small. And by chance, this unknown master who knew of the Demonic Sect was the one who collected the escaped poison?

Could all this truly be mere coincidence? What if it wasn’t chance, but rather, the schemes of this old man who had foreseen their grand purpose and sought to prevent it?

He’d thought it strange when the powerless poison escaped the eyes of the martial artists, but now the leader finally grasped the whole story and spoke with a chilling voice.

“Black Serpents, assume formation.”

No sooner had the leader’s words fallen than the dozen-plus warriors began swiftly forming a battle array, without even questioning the order. At first, they had wanted to avoid unnecessary risks.

But now, their thoughts had changed.

At any cost.

They had to kill this mysterious old man and silence him.