Benefactor
It was a clear night without a single cloud in the sky.
The moon hung high in the open sky.
Even the smallest pebbles cast distinct shadows under the white, bright moonlight.
Behind the guesthouse that the Shin Clan Manor had chosen as their lodging was an open space, the grass patchy from poor maintenance.
Shin Soryeong stood quietly in the center of it, her sword hanging loosely in one hand.
"......."
Her complicated state of mind was plainly revealed in her expressionless face and gently closed eyes.
Night had fallen, but she couldn't sleep and so had co out with her sword.
Yet, even after coming out, she couldn't bring herself to swing her sword and simply stood there.
The victory from the earlier day's duel was long forgotten.
It was the conversation she'd had just a few hours ago that troubled her.
'...... To break the boundary between sword technique and fist-and-palm arts?'
She replayed the words over and over in her head.
It could not be helped; never once since she'd started learning the sword had she thought of such a thing.
Martial arts in the martial world were countless beyond imagining.
Martial artists spent their lives perfecting only a few among them.
Having many skills did not make one an expert.
Rather, it was universally acknowledged to be best to hone a single martial art diligently and thoroughly.
That was why she had ceaselessly polished only the Pranja Thirty-Six Swords.
In terms of training intensity, she was confident she would not fall behind anyone her age.
She had good reason. It wasn't simply about becoming an expert.
A sword technique whose foundation was fist-and-palm arts—a half-baked sword art.
That was the world's evaluation of the Shin Clan Manor's sword style.
Even amid praise for their sect, a branch of the prestigious Shaolin and itself of high reputation, there was a subtle derision when it ca to their swordsmanship.
She had heard such talk since childhood.
She had once vowed to overturn that reputation herself.
She wanted to personally prove that her clan's martial art was a perfect sword technique in itself.
Perhaps that was why.
Whenever she trained, she had consciously tried to erase any trace of fist-and-palm arts.
She focused solely on the essence of the sword art, striving to perfect each move.
It wasn't just Soryeong—eventually, every martial artist in her clan did the sa.
They all struggled to build their na as true sword artists.
'But... Did soone see the traces of fist-and-palm arts in my technique?'
That was a statent she could only respond to by firmly shutting her mouth.
It was, after all, a complete denial of her lifelong training.
Yet, she couldn't help but listen to the rest.
Unconsciously, she even imagined herself wielding her sword in the way described.
Soon, she was lost in the new path of the blade unfolding in her mind's eye.
It was an awakening.
'Nonsense. That can't be...'
Recalling what happened at the guesthouse, Shin Soryeong shook her head.
Realizing sothing and accepting it fully were different matters.
Her unwavering conviction as a martial artist—admitting it was wrong was no easy matter.
Conversely, having such things overturned by a few words seed even more absurd.
Even so, it was a fact that she'd been unable to sleep, drawn outside with her sword as if bewitched by those words.
She could not overco her confusion, and so she had simply stood there for over an hour.
"... Let's try it."
Srrrng.
At last, she unsheathed her sword.
The blade glead subtly in the gentle moonlight.
The confusion taking root in her heart was a kind of inner demon.
Unless she resolved it, it would hold her back on her path.
She slowly adopted her ready stance, recalling in her mind the very first and most practiced move, Wisdom Light's First Appearance, the opening move of the Pranja Thirty-Six Swords.
It was a sword move that served as a gateway to the thirty-six techniques.
Whenever one began sword training in the Shin Clan Manor, this was the move they endlessly practiced.
But now, she had to perform it differently.
To determine the truth or falsehood of that idea, there was no other way.
She erased from her mind the blade path and feeling she had previously known.
She let go of her conscious focus on the sword blade's sharpness as she gripped the sword guard.
At the sa mont, she forgot the pressure of her grip on the sword guard.
She focused solely on the feeling of curling her hand, as if making a fist.
'... Six Harmony Fist.'
A martial art naturally surfaced in her mind.
It was the fundantal fist technique she had first learned as a lay disciple of Shaolin.
It was a basic style taught to all, both monastic and lay disciples.
She, too, had learned it as a child.
She didn't know by what principle the Six Harmony Fist had now co to her.
But she allowed her mind to follow that flow, despite having always tried to erase it before.
As she began to treat her sword not as a sword but as a palm for executing fist techniques, the intent of chopping down rather than slashing arose.
At the sa ti, true ki flowed from her dantian towards her wrist.
She swung her sword.
Hwaaaak─!
An ear-piercing, sharp sound shattered the air, the likes of which she had never heard before.
"...!"
The mont she swung, she felt it.
The sensation was different.
It extended smoothly, splitting the air—a sensation so distinct, she wondered if this was really the sa sword move.
She had not consciously intended to cut with her sword, but a sharp burst of vital ki had surged from the blade, sothing she felt clearly at her fingertips.
Where before her strikes would tear the air, now they sliced through it sharply, a bursting energy.
The difference couldn't have been clearer as to which was closer to true swordsmanship.
"H-How...?"
Shin Soryeong looked down at the sword in her hand.
The mont she let go of her attachnt to swinging her sword "as swordsmanship," she achieved a strike closer to true swordsmanship than ever before.
No, it was more than just sothing akin to swordsmanship.
It wasn't anything special—it was simply the first move of the Pranja Thirty-Six Swords.
Only now was she truly displaying the essence contained within the technique.
'All this ti... what was I doing?'
Having experienced it in her own body, she finally understood.
From the first, her ancestor who created this martial art had not been confined by the idea of only making "a sword technique".
In the process of elevating the refined Shaolin fist arts into sword arts, her ancestor must have glimpsed the germ of a unique technique.
The Pranja Thirty-Six Swords was a martial art that bound all those elents together as they were.
Distinguishing between fist-and-palm arts and sword technique was aningless from the very beginning.
"...!"
She let her sword droop limply again.
Her pupils unfocused before she knew it.
With a single sword move, enlightennt filled her mind.
Now was the mont to focus on that inspiration.
Thus, Shin Soryeong stood for a long ti in the gentle moonlight.
* * *
Jeong-un left the guesthouse early in the morning.
The servant girl, as if she had anticipated it, handed Jeong-un a small bundle containing a few rice balls.
Jeong-un smiled faintly and waved it away.
Though he was grateful, he coldly reasoned it would only be extra baggage.
'It's not like I'm climbing a long way.'
Ever since he had built up thick true ki in his dantian, even a small amount of food was enough.
It was different from the days when he always needed to eat heartily before ceaselessly swinging his sword.
Now, Jeong-un stood as a fully-fledged swordsman among experts.
"Thank you."
Jeong-un discreetly tipped a few coins into her hand so she wouldn't feel awkward.
The servant brightened and bowed again and again to his departing back.
Lightly employing lightness skill, Jeong-un climbed up the mountain, recalling what had happened the previous evening.
'I've heard martial artists often discuss their techniques with each other...'
But Shin Soryeong had exchanged only a few words before promptly leaving.
Her face had seed rather dark as well.
Jeong-un had no way of knowing the reason.
He only felt regret that his hopes to learn sothing about the Shaolin Assembly through having her nearby had evaporated.
Saaaaah—
The clear mountain breeze brushed softly past his ears.
By now, ascending the mountain with lightness skill felt quite familiar.
'So many people, just as they said.'
It was true.
The mountain path carved along Mount Song's gentle slope was packed with crowds.
They said many who climbed were not even participants in the Shaolin Assembly.
It was one of the rare tis when Shaolin's gates were wide open to outside martial artists, so many tried to forge connections by attending however they could.
On the other hand, there were quite a few, like Jeong-un, who left the busy path and ascended the steeper, wooded ways.
So among them even demonstrated fairly refined lightness skill.
In that way, he finally arrived at Shaolin's gate.
'It's fairly strict.'
About a dozen Shaolin monks were guarding the entrance, facing arriving visitors.
Unlike those seen in the village at the foot of the mountain, all were martial monks, their gentle smiles underlaid by a solid force of energy.
It seed they were sorting martial artists participating in the Shaolin Assembly from ordinary visitors.
Jeong-un waited patiently in line behind the crowd.
"What brings you here?"
"I am Cheon Pung of the Baek Sword Gate. I have co to participate in the Shaolin Assembly."
Jeong-un replied with a light martial salute.
The Shaolin monk gave him a long look, then glanced at another monk beside him.
'... I've heard the Shaolin's security thods are very refined indeed.'
Jeong-un watched them sidelong and waited calmly.
At this mont, Jeong-un was dressed in the attire of the Baek Sword Gate, wearing the norigae the General Affairs Departnt had prepared.
He had already experienced its effectiveness in the Kaifeng District and did not doubt it.
Even more, since converting the power of the Human-shaped Ginseng and all the internal energy sleeping in his dantian into true ki, things were different again.
When he poured true ki into the norigae, a sturdier energy enveloped his face.
It seed the Shaolin monks exchanged coded signals, and one of them spoke to Jeong-un.
"Usually, the Baek Sword Gate's deputy leader leads the party here, but last year you did not attend, and this ti you ca alone."
"...."
They didn't seem to have recognized his disguise.
Thinking so, Jeong-un responded calmly.
"The Sect Leader ordered the gates closed for true cultivation. The other disciples are still training. However, he felt that not attending two years in a row would be discourteous to the abbot who invited us, so he sent . I apologize for coming alone."
Jeong-un bowed his head respectfully.
The Shaolin monk also returned the bow, apparently impressed.
"I only asked about your reason; you have not behaved rudely. We only appreciate that you made the effort to co. May I see your identity token?"
"Here it is."
Jeong-un drew out the disguise token supplied by the General Affairs Departnt.
It was originally prepared for the Deputy-Leader of the Baek Sword Gate, but had been tinkered with and engraved with a different na.
"It's certainly..."
The Shaolin monk was nodding as he looked down at it.
At that mont, a sudden wave of vital ki was felt from behind. The crowd at the gate turned their heads as one.
This was right at the gate of Shaolin itself.
Even if not warned, everyone lowered their voices when near, and even those who tried to use lightness skill here would slow their pace on their own.
Yet soone was charging up with such a fierce burst of energy?
It would be considered rude even at Shaolin.
As everyone turned in surprise, the source of the energy appeared at last.
It was Shin Soryeong, whom Jeong-un had seen the previous day.
She had co up so quickly with lightness skill that her companions were trailing far behind.
Soon, she arrived before Jeong-un and the Shaolin monks.
Jeong-un looked at her in puzzlent, but the Shaolin monks responded first.
Since she was from a Shaolin-affiliated clan, they already seed to know one another.
"Is that not Lady Shin?"
"What's the rush...?"
Shin Soryeong, catching her breath, offered a martial salute to the monks. Then, turning to Jeong-un, she spoke.
"I hurried to the guesthouse, but you had already left..."
"You were looking for ?"
Jeong-un replied in confusion.
She had left so abruptly while talking the previous day—he couldn't help but wonder why.
"I apologize for coming in such haste to greet you."
"A greeting...?"
At that, everyone watching widened their eyes. Shin Soryeong suddenly bowed deeply.
Then she spoke.
"I received great enlightennt from your refined instruction. On behalf of the Shin Clan Manor, I thank you deeply."
"...?"
"Benefactor."
Jeong-un unconsciously covered his face with his hand.
Just in case, he wondered if he had made a slip in his disguise technique.
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