Chapter 2096 – 2096. The Ascent To Radiance
I didn’t understand the situation when I fainted, so I asked Wei Yu.
“How exactly did you knock me out back then? I felt like something was cutting me, but… my body was fine.”
“Ah, you mean that time. I cut your consciousness.”
“Huh?”
Even after hearing the answer, I couldn’t understand.
“You cut my spirit?”
“If I had cut your spirit, would you be standing here perfectly fine in front of me?”
“…Spirit or consciousness, they aren’t concepts that can be cut.”
“If you recognize a concept, you can cut it. Some call it the Mind Sword.”
I had reached the Three Peaks realm. Equivalent to a sect leader of a great sect. In the Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult, it would be considered an elder-level realm. Even though I had reached the Three Peaks realm, albeit at the initial stage, I couldn’t understand Wei Yu’s words.
“What kind of training do I need to do to obtain the Mind Sword?”
Wei Yu wore a rare look of bewilderment.
“The Mind Sword isn’t a technique or anything. If I had to say, it’s a kind of realm. But the method to reach it… I don’t know either.”
“If Master doesn’t know, who would? If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”
“You brat. Why wouldn’t I tell my disciple just because of that? The Mind Sword… I was able to wield it from some point. I’m not sure exactly when I became able to wield it.”
Looking at Wei Yu’s expression, it didn’t seem like she was lying. In the first place, Wei Yu doesn’t lie. She’d rather keep her mouth shut than lie.
Anyway, I didn’t give up on trying to get with Wei Yu.
‘Lucky pervert and aphrodisiac didn’t work… Should I go with the direct approach?’
Rape was out of the question. I was weaker than Wei Yu. Conversely, if Wei Yu had the intention to rape me, I wouldn’t be able to stop her. The problem was that she didn’t have such intentions.
The direct approach was a confession.
A confession with a good atmosphere is much better than a casual one.
During sunset, I called Wei Yu to an open space near the training grounds. Wei Yu came out without much suspicion.
“What do you want to say that you came all the way out here?”
“Master. I love you. Not as a disciple, but as a man! I’m in love with you!”
Wei Yu wasn’t flustered. Her eyes were calm. She didn’t laugh at me or ignore me.
“You’re mistaken. That’s not love, it’s lust and carnal desire. Do you think I don’t know how you look at my body? If you want to satisfy your lust, go down to the village and visit a brothel. I don’t particularly mind. Or ask your wife, Seol.”
“Master! This is definitely love!”
“Don’t be stubborn. You just want to hold my body.”
“…Then let me hold you just once!”
“Enough. I am your master, and you are my disciple. It’s evening, so let’s go inside. You prepare dinner tonight.”
Wei Yu turned and went back home. I sighed, looking at her unwavering back.
She doesn’t see me as a man. This has the advantage of allowing us to be together without any awkwardness. But it becomes an obstacle when pursuing a relationship beyond that.
Of course, I didn’t give up so easily.
I tried to strike cool poses in front of Wei Yu or sweet-talk her. Wei Yu would just chuckle and brush it off. I couldn’t seduce Wei Yu with ordinary methods. She was the toughest woman I had ever encountered.
‘If I suddenly try to touch her, I’ll get beaten under the guise of training. And a lecture on top of that. It’s not very effective either.’
But it wasn’t like I couldn’t think of other methods.
The method I came up with was blackmail.
Blackmail doesn’t necessarily have to involve force. If I got my hands on something precious to her, I could blackmail her.
‘Honestly, I don’t think I can handle the aftermath… I don’t know. Maybe she’ll forgive me if I beg on my knees.’
I decided to try it without thinking about the consequences.
What Wei Yu cherished was the Wei Yu Divine Sword. Wei Yu always carried the Wei Yu Divine Sword when she went outside. When she was at home, she kept it on a stand in her room. It was cumbersome to carry around inside the house.
Was the Wei Yu Divine Sword as amazing as its name suggested? I didn’t know. She had never spoken in detail about the Wei Yu Divine Sword. She wouldn’t answer even if I asked. It didn’t seem like she had any intention of handing the Wei Yu Divine Sword over to Namgung Seol, who had inherited Wei Yu’s martial arts.
It was easy to enter Wei Yu’s room. I went into the room under the pretext of cleaning. Wei Yu didn’t suspect me at all.
I felt a slight pang of guilt, but… it was just slight.
‘It’s your fault for making me like this, Wei Yu.’
I picked up the Wei Yu Divine Sword that was in the room. The word ‘master sword’ wasn’t enough to describe it. It was far superior to the swords made by dwarves, and I could even feel an unknown energy from it.
‘It’s worthy of being called a divine sword.’
My plan was to put the Wei Yu Divine Sword into my inventory. I could summon and unsummon items from my inventory. But my plan failed from the start.
‘The Wei Yu Divine Sword won’t go into my inventory.’
There were two reasons why an item wouldn’t go into my inventory.
One was if I couldn’t lift the item. Size didn’t matter. Even if it was as big as a house, it would go into my inventory as long as I could lift it. Conversely, even if it was small enough to fit in one hand, it wouldn’t go into my inventory if I couldn’t lift it.
I could lift the Wei Yu Divine Sword. In terms of weight, it wasn’t much different from other swords.
‘The other case is if it’s a living creature.’
I couldn’t put living creatures into my inventory.
The Wei Yu Divine Sword must have been the second case. Although it wasn’t a living creature, it was clear that my inventory recognized it as something alive.
‘Is it like an ego sword? Or is something alive sealed within this sword?’
My plan had gone wrong.
Take it without putting it in my inventory? There was a high chance that Wei Yu would find out immediately and take it back. And I’d get beaten to near death on top of that.
‘Damn it. Nothing ever goes right.’
I scrapped the blackmail plan. I didn’t know exactly what the Wei Yu Divine Sword meant to Wei Yu. It might be more precious to her than her own life. In that case, my relationship with Wei Yu would be ruined.
‘There’s no need to take such a risk.’
I quietly put the Wei Yu Divine Sword back down and cleaned the room.
• • •
Krrrrrr.
One day, an earthquake suddenly occurred on Mount Nakwol. Wei Yu and I were training outside when we felt the earthquake and lowered our swords. Wei Yu turned her head towards the direction where the ground was shaking. Her eyes narrowed as she looked towards the cave on Mount Nakwol.
Kwaaaang!
Along with a loud explosion, a huge wave of heat swept through the surroundings. It was fine where I was, but around the cave, which seemed to be the epicenter of the wave, blue flames soared and then disappeared. The trees and grass that were there were instantly burned to ashes, and the surroundings were swept away. It was like gray snow was falling.
“This is bad.”
Wei Yu, who spoke in a serious tone, ran towards the cave. I followed her.
I didn’t know what had happened in the cave, but I knew that Miryeong was training in that cave to break through her limits.
Originally, it was difficult to get close to the cave. There was a barrier that Miryeong had set up to avoid being disturbed. But that barrier had now disappeared without a trace.
I entered the cave, feeling the heat as if the ground was burning.
Miryeong was lying naked. Her fox ears and four fox tails were drooping near her head and tailbone, where she should have been in a completely human form. Blue flames were burning around her.
Wei Yu drew the Wei Yu Divine Sword and swung it once. The sword wind brushed past the surroundings. The blue flames went out, and the heat subsided.
Wei Yu held Miryeong in her arms. Miryeong was sweating profusely and gasping for breath.
“Master! How is Miryeong?!”
“She’s unconscious. Her body is relatively fine… Did she trap her spirit inside her own mindscape? To protect her spirit? I’m not a sorcerer, so I don’t know the details.”
I approached Miryeong. I reached out to touch her but stopped. I could feel a hot energy from her body. She couldn’t control her fire energy at all. She wasn’t in a normal state. If I touched her carelessly, the situation might worsen.
Wei Yu poked some of Miryeong’s acupoints with her fingers. The fire energy flowing out of her body decreased.
“I’ve done some first aid… but it’s not good. Her energy keeps flowing out. The energy that should be circulating in her body is leaking out. She needs to regain consciousness as soon as possible to control it… If her spirit is trapped in her mindscape, there’s no telling when she’ll wake up.”
“How did this happen?”
“She tried to forcibly break through her limits and failed. If she had succeeded, it would have been fine. But since she failed, she’s paying the price.”
“……”
Forcibly breaking through limits. The danger of that applies to martial artists as well. In the case of martial artists, there is a high possibility of falling into a qi deviation. But this symptom was different from the qi deviation I knew.
“What will happen if she stays like this?”
“She’ll wither away and die. Miryeong isn’t an ordinary one, so she’ll last for a year. If she regains her spirit within that time, there won’t be any problems.”
“……Do you think Miryeong will be able to wake up?”
“I don’t know since I don’t have any knowledge in this area. Think about qi deviation. It’s never easy to overcome qi deviation with one’s own power. But what if there’s help from others? It’s easier to overcome.”
“We need to help Miryeong.”
“Yes. The problem is that we’re not sorcerers, so we don’t know how to help Miryeong.”
“One year… Are you sure Miryeong can last for a year?”
“Looking at Miryeong’s capabilities, she can last for a year.”
“I’ll find a way. Master, please take care of Miryeong.”
“…You’ll find a way? How?”
“I know someone who might know the answer.”
Baekran.
She, the regressor Heavenly Demon, had said that she had studied sorcery and magic. Even if that wasn’t the case, as a regressor, she would know a lot of information. She would definitely be helpful in this situation.
