Book 24 Chapter 21

Limits, Beyond Them

―Are there no sword techniques in the Birae Sect?

"Master, please teach me just one sword technique."

"Sword technique? You're talking in your sleep in broad daylight. Such a thing wouldn't exist, you foolish disciple?"

"It doesn't exist?"

"No."

"A hidden sword technique, a trump card, something like that? Hmph, boring."

"Boring? If you have the Biraedo, it's more than enough. What's the point of learning a sword technique? Are you planning to slice radishes? I just can't understand you."

"What if the Biraedo is lost or stolen? If I only have my sword then, I'll have to use a sword technique, and if I don't know any, I can't use it."

"Just throw it."

The master's answer was simple.

"It's not stylish."

"Winning is all that matters. Do you think style feeds you? And the Biraedo stolen? Then just die. What's the point of living after losing a sect's treasure? You have a thick face."

"Ugh, you're really cold-hearted. Are you really my master?"

"Do you want to verify?"

The master asked, raising his fist.

"No, you definitely seem to be my master."

The master stroked his beard for a moment, deep in thought, then spoke.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it's not that there isn't one. I'm talking about a sword technique."

"But you just said there wasn't!"

"There isn't among the Birae Sect's martial arts."

"Then is it a martial art from another sect? Like the Ami Sect next door?"

"No. It's a bit stronger than theirs. Although it depends on the practitioner's ability."

"What kind of sword technique is it?"

"For practice."

"For practice?"

"Yes, for practice. Since we're on the topic, I'll show you. It's a mountain you have to cross anyway. It's about time for that stage."

He then snapped a branch off a nearby tree, roughly trimmed it, and held it in his hand.

"Now, if you can't dodge, you'll die, so be careful."

His words were casual, but he was serious. However, this was too sudden.

"Wait a minute. You just said it was for practice?"

"Yes, it's for practice. Now, the training method is simple. I will perform a sword technique. You will block that move using the Biraedo. How simple is that?"

"Hmm, it does sound simple."

But something was still bothering him. It felt ominous.

"Well, but I'll tell you in advance, you won't be able to block this with what you've learned so far."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me to die? It's the loss of one valuable disciple's life."

"Why? There's only one way."

"What is it?"

"You have to master a new ultimate technique. A new ultimate technique that can counter the sword technique I perform. Based on what you've learned so far. How about it? Simple, right?"

"How… how can that be simple at all?"

"It's simple. Disciple, you can do it! Don't worry."

"Don't say that with a look that doesn't believe I can do it at all."

"No more questions!"

"Th-that's absurd!"

"Alright, here I come."

"Wait, stop! Halt! Noooooo!"

And the boy was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

"I almost died back then."

Back then, I felt like I saw a vast field of flowers and a clear river flowing in the distance. Fortunately, I survived. And I faced near-death experiences many times afterward. It was impossible to create a new ultimate technique in one go. But my master said it was possible, and he pushed me to the limit until it truly became possible.

'It's a wonder I'm still alive.'

Still, I survived somehow, and I even mastered those tiresome ultimate techniques. It seems one can do anything when pushed to the extreme. His teaching philosophy was likely passed down from his master.

Yeonbi raised his sword and aimed it at Chilshangheun. He was about to unleash the sword technique he naturally learned while being thoroughly tested by his master, a technique originally created as a means to help him master the advanced ultimate techniques of the Biraedo. It was the only sword technique he had learned from his master.

Chilshangheun also sensed the unusual momentum of Yeonbi, who had drawn his sword. His posture was not that of a novice. There was a naturalness, as if he had held a sword for a long time. It was far more natural and profound than when he had swung his umbrella just moments before.

Chilshangheun decided to engage him wholeheartedly as well. Honestly, he wanted to test his progress. For that purpose, there was no better opponent than this person called Yeonbi. Whether he was a man or a woman was of no consequence to him now. Yeonbi's skill was genuine.

"It's time to end this."

"I agree."

Both of them knew that only one final move remained for each of them. For Yeonbi, it had been a long time since he had met someone who pushed him to his limits like this.

The two said nothing. This was not a stage where words were needed. Through their accumulated experience and instincts, they knew what the other would do.

'The final move!'

'The final move, pouring everything into it.'

'On the day I wield that move, I will surpass myself!'

'I will become a new me.'

'That me will no longer be a "fugitive"!'

'I will find the me I lost today!'

Chilshangheun firmly gripped the twin sabers he had buried in the past and tried to forget. An invisible force seemed to spread through his limbs and bones from the hilts.

'Has there ever been a time I was this true to myself?'

A sensation he hadn't felt for the past nine years, a strong conviction that he was firmly rooted in this place, dominated his entire body.

'Yes, this is me!'

These two sabers were the most concrete proof of who he was. Yet, he had kept them in a coffin, even nailed them shut. How foolish! For years, he had lived as a mere shell. Now, at this moment, by holding the twin sabers again, his soul seemed to have returned.

"Thank you for making me confront my past again."

"You're welcome."

"As a reward, I will show you the most powerful saber art in the martial world."

"I'm tired of seeing the most powerful saber art."

Chilshangheun wasn't listening to Yeonbi at all.

"You can never block this move."

Chilshangheun said, holding his twin sabers and assuming a stance.

"We'll have to see about that."

Then Chilshangheun shook his head and said,

"No need to see, this is that kind of move."

Chilshangheun sincerely believed so. He had made all the preparations. His body and mind were aligned to unleash only one saber art.

'It's time.'

Yeonbi took a deep breath. He was about to walk a tightrope at the boundary of life and death. Even he had never been to this place before. Because it was beyond the limit. Whether death or life awaited at the end, he could not know now.

'Well then, shall we go!'

The obsidian light in Yeonbi's eyes disappeared, and they began to shine like a golden sun.

Whoosh.

Instantly, dust rose around Yeonbi, concealing his body. This was to prevent the spectators from seeing what was about to happen.

Clank!

Finally, the Phoenix Ring on Yeonbi's right wrist opened with a heavy metallic sound. And then,

Thump!

It fell to the ground, unable to bear its weight.

Thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

"……!"

A silent scream erupted. The moment the Phoenix Ring came off, Yeonbi almost fainted. His entire body felt like it was being torn to shreds. The force he had barely contained poured into his limbs. The force was rough and savage. Lacking any gentleness, the force made all his muscles and blood vessels scream. He felt like he would shatter into pieces, unable to withstand it. His vision turned blood red. His heart pounded wildly. It felt like it would explode at any moment. Unbearable pain gnawed at his entire nervous system. His whole body trembled violently.

'Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!'

He felt like a pathetic human standing powerlessly beneath a giant waterfall. He was like a single leaf swept away by the strong current of the Yangtze River.

Chilshangheun's lips moved within his red vision. However, only the movement was visible, not the sound. His hearing was gone. He wanted to answer… but his tongue was already numb. Even if he wanted to scream, no voice came out.

Just opening the lock, and yet, such agonizing pain flooded him. It was miraculous that his limbs hadn't been torn off and were still attached.

'It… was… crazy… wasn't… it.'

He wanted to give a self-deprecating bitter smile, but even that he couldn't do. It felt like the claws of a razor-sharp beast were tearing at every inch of his body.

'It's… already… irreversible… now.'

To survive, he had to find another means. Before this violent torrent erased his existence. Before turning him into dust.

Don't resist.

This flow…

The point where resistance would be possible was already past. Trying to resist would only cause it to crumble like a sandcastle.

Yeonbi didn't resist the flow; instead, he let his body become one with it and created a path for it to flow better. As he did so, what had been obstructed shattered one by one against the torrent. Each time, intense pain tormented Yeonbi. Finally, the flow reached his brain.

Boom!

Something exploded in his head.

And Yeonbi was flung into a long darkness.

Sensation, space, and time vanished within it.

And… eons passed.

Yeonbi opened his eyes in a world without time and space. The sun was still hanging in the sky. And surprisingly, he was still alive, not dead.

No matter how much stored water there was, it had its limits. The frantic torrent, after a while, gradually slowed down its flow and eventually became a great river, flowing leisurely. It was still a powerful current, but it was no longer the mad torrent of a swollen river during the monsoon season.

'But when was that?'

The concept of time was jumbled.

'What happened just now? What did I see and feel?'

His memories were a tangled mess.

'What on earth happened to me just now?'

He couldn't understand it well. Even trying to explain it in words didn't work. But the fact that something had happened was immutable.

He tried moving his finger.

It moved!

This time, he tried moving his toe.

It moved.

He raised his gaze.

It moved.

Chilshangheun still hadn't attacked and remained in the same stance.

'Why hasn't he attacked yet? There should have been enough time?'

But judging by his stance and momentum, it didn't seem like that much time had passed.

'It felt like eons had passed…'

Time in this world seemed to have almost stopped.

It was a cruel irony. Well, if anything, it was fortunate. If he had been attacked while his explosive qi was in opposition, he would never have survived.

Finally, Chilshangheun's saber extended. It seemed very slow. There seemed to be no change. It felt like he could easily dodge this. But it was strange. He clearly moved his body to evade, but the distance between him and the saber remained the same. No, it seemed to have gotten closer than before. He thought he had dodged it, but the distance remained unchanged. From the slowly approaching saber tip, no change was detected. It felt like a blade relentlessly pursuing him, a ghost he could never shake off.

'This is!'

Only then did Yeonbi realize what kind of saber was flying towards him, aiming for his life.

'It's a Heart Saber! No doubt about it.'

No, in this case, since it was wielded with a saber, it should be called a 'Heart Saber.'

'Got it!'

The moment Chilshangheun exulted, a suddenly emerging jet-black sword blocked the trajectory of his saber.

Startled, Chilshangheun looked at Yeonbi. Yeonbi's pupils were shining with a strange golden light.

"Do you think it ends with just this?"

"Is there a way?"

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a Heart Saber for a Heart Saber. Something like that."

A black sword, embroidered with beautiful silver patterns, extended directly towards Chilshangheun's approaching saber.

The tip of the sword and the tip of the saber collided at a point smaller than a speck of dust.

Something almost impossible had happened.

"Impossible!"

Then Yeonbi replied,

"It's possible."

'When did I realize I was deceived by my master?'

It was after being tricked about a dozen times.

"Master, you deceived me!"

His master's sword technique was a sword technique, but not a sword technique.

That training was training for the Great Heart Saber. Therefore, there was no reason for it to have a fixed form. Isn't the realm of the Heart Saber to wield the sword as the heart dictates? If you consider the result, it can be said to be the realm where the body automatically finds the process. To be precise, it would be the subconscious. Therefore, it was impossible to break that sword move by simply strengthening a common form. That nameless sword technique had no form. But that also meant it was utterly free.

It was impossible to break that sword technique by making the techniques more complex. To break that sword technique, one had to transcend a level further. Only then could that realm be broken.

To break a sword technique that unfolds as the heart dictates, one had only to wield the Biraedo freely as the heart dictates. In the same realm, other variables would determine victory or defeat. That was pure power.

Nameless Sword.

That was the sword technique Yeonbi was currently employing. This sword technique had no name. It was unnecessary. In the Birae Sect, where the Biraedo was passed down, there was no place for this sword technique. However, for another reason, this sword technique was needed. But in the end, no one had ever named this sword technique. Yet, it was an indispensable element for moving towards a higher stage.

Nameless Sword.

It was training prepared to transcend the stage of Heart Saber.

The two clashed at the border of life and death. An enormous shock wave swept in all directions. It was so powerful that the surrounding rocks and dirt were swept upwards by the aftermath. And it concealed the outcome of the match.

The spectators were flustered. Some booed. They cried out that it was unacceptable to miss the most crucial moment. But despite their protests, the dust did not seem to settle quickly. The spectators could only wait with bated breath.

'It can't be! It can't be! It can't be! It can't be!'

'Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible!'

As his confident final move was blocked by Yeonbi, disbelief began to sprout in a corner of Chilshangheun's heart. The realm he had displayed was clearly the realm of the Heart Saber, but now, random thoughts had infiltrated that Heart Saber. The anxiety that had sprouted in a corner of his heart gnawed at his entire being like black ink. The certainty of his final move was broken at this moment.

He no longer had confidence in his saber moves. A doubt arose that it might still be incomplete. That doubt became a great darkness that swallowed his saber moves. Then, the natural flow of the saber art was naturally broken.

He had to empty his mind and have confidence, but he couldn't. That's where the difference arose. Yeonbi's steadily shining golden eyes directly met Chilshangheun's wavering eyes.

"Your faith has been broken. Then, I will take this victory!"

Nameless Sword Ultimate Technique.

Ink Thunder Kill.

Yeonbi's sword, like black and silver lightning, poured towards Chilshangheun. His twin sabers, imbued with disbelief, could not block this ultimate move.

He was completely swallowed by the black and silver lightning that poured down like a heavy rain.