Not all of the Gongsun Sword Art was fast. Some forms were slower than an ordinary sword, but those were deemed unsuitable for practical combat and thus were not studied deeply.

Her sword began to slow down at the same time as it sped up. It was a contradiction, yet it was natural. It was like an infinite, overlapping chain of pine needles.

Watching her enter a State of Selflessness, Jin Cheon-hee stood perfectly still.

Wow… so this is what an enlightenment looks like. It was freaking awesome¹ when I read about it in the novel, and it’s freaking awesome to see in person. Anyway. Does this count as repaying the debt for the Black Pine Cloud Sword? Well, to be honest, my main intention was to put her in my debt for the future.

As he was thinking, he saw someone walking briskly toward them. A woman wearing a gauze veil. He knew the only person here who dressed like that was Gongsun Hyeon.

I placed a finger to my lips and made a ‘shhh’ gesture. Gongsun Hyeon stopped in her tracks, then clasped her hands in a formal salute and bowed her head. I returned the salute and quietly left the area. Gongsun Hyeon took my place, standing guard over her sister.

With Gongsun Hyeon protecting Gongsun Yeong, I walked away with a smile.

***

The long period of selflessness, was coming to an end. Gongsun Yeong’s world slowly moved from the past into the present. She had forgotten herself, forgotten everything she had ever learned. She forgot the sound of the birds and the smell of the grass. In that place beyond all forgetting, only the whisper of a young boy guided her. But she could not remember his name.

Who was he?

It didn’t matter. She had already forgotten her own name. Only a serene emptiness governed her. Her sword moved forth silently, regardless of the situation. One second. The answer lay in that one second that was slower than others. Why was speed, speed? It was because one had to master speed in order to turn that one slow second into two seconds that could overturn everything.

I was so taken with the trees that I failed to see the forest. The forest is what’s truly beautiful…

Her sword dance moved toward its finale. Finally, a single flash unfolded from her hand.

Gongsun Sword Art: Azure Pine Returning Sword, One Annihilation

A sword path that grew stronger the more powerful the enemy’s sword became blossomed at her fingertips. Her sword Qi pierced through a massive granite rock in the clearing. It didn’t shatter it. It didn’t break it. To slice through it as if it were a radish required a transcendent level of enlightenment in the sword. Her sword had not cut. The condensed sword path had become a single point and pierced through space.

The line became a point. And the point became a line. It was just like a pine needle.

“Huuuuu—”

At the end of her trance, she felt a pang of regret. The State of Selflessness was a moment a martial artist might only experience once in a lifetime. She had grasped it and achieved a new level of mastery, but she wanted more. It was the desire of a true warrior.

More…

In that instant, her sword changed. The sword Qi finally became sword silk. From a hazy shimmer, the energy began to coalesce into thin, thread-like strands. And then, the threads snapped. The snapped threads shot out, drawing dozens of straight lines through the air.

Kwachachachang—!

It was a sight that would have made Jin Cheon-hee gasp in horror. ‘This goes beyond a simple counter-attack; it’s a declaration that if you touch her, you simply die!’ he would have screamed.

The State of Selflessness finally ended. She wondered what name to give this new sword path. With two enlightenments, she could feel that she had entered the ranks of the Peak Realm.

“This is a great fortune for the Gongsun Clan.”

At the sound of the voice, she lifted her head. Gongsun Hyeon was standing there. Around her, the warriors of the Gongsun Clan stood guard.

“Sister.”

“Congratulations on reaching the Peak Realm.”

Conscious of the others, her voice was stiff and her face was expressionless. But she could not hide the flush on her cheeks. Her face was redder with joy than ever before. Following her lead, the Gongsun warriors began to chime in.

“Congratulations, Young Miss!”

“My heavens, congratulations.”

“This is joyous news. We must inform the main family at once!”

After chattering amongst themselves, they all looked at each other and then shouted in unison. “Congratulations on reaching the Peak Realm!”

Gongsun Yeong waved her hand. “This is all thanks to that child, Jin Cheon-hee. I now owe him a debt that the Black Pine Cloud Sword cannot repay. Where is he?”

He had pestered her to show him how to use the sword, and in return, he had given her a great fortuitous encounter. She had to repay this immense grace, which a sword could not settle. To repay what one has received, whether it is a grace or a grudge—that was Gongsun Yeong’s Chivalry.

But in that moment, her body swayed, and she collapsed. This wasn’t an ordinary sword dance; it had been performed in a State of Selflessness. She had exhausted every last drop of her body’s essence to attain her enlightenment. She had brandished her sword, filled with Qi, for half a day straight. Her stamina was far beyond that of a normal warrior, but even that had its limits.

Her shocked sister, Gongsun Hyeon, cried out. “Support her! Quickly! Ah, no. I will do it myself.” Forgetting the eyes of those around her, Gongsun Hyeon rushed forward and caught her sister in her arms.

I have to go… I have to go…

Within her body, which had reached its absolute limit, Gongsun Yeong’s consciousness slowly began to fade.

***

While the Gongsun Clan was being turned upside down by Gongsun Yeong’s enlightenment, Jin Cheon-hee met up with Little Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryoon. It wasn’t anything grand. They just shared some delicious food and chatted like any other kids their age. Yeo Ha-ryoon was clearly dying to know about Cheon-hee’s secret plan for the Blood Gu, but there was nothing he could do. Whenever he asked, Cheon-hee would just smile slyly and say there was no need to rush.

The two of them snuck out of the escort agency compound and headed for the marketplace. A stall was selling roasted sparrow skewers over a charcoal brazier. The sparrows were gutted, skewered, and grilled with a soy-based sauce. The meat was delightfully chewy, and the taste was beyond compare.

“This is better than the sparrow I ate when I was a kid.”

“Younger than you are now? How young could you have been?” Yeo Ha-ryoon asked, looking at me as if I’d said something absurd.

I chuckled at his question. “You’re right. How young could I have been… I never thought I’d get to eat this again.”

To think that he could only eat something in death that he couldn’t in life; a person’s fate was truly unknowable.

“You don’t have any money, right? I’ll pay.”

At my words, Yeo Ha-ryoon’s young cheeks flushed with shame. He had used up all his silver to join the escort mission. I casually handed him a sparrow skewer.

“I got a huge allowance. The elders at the escort agency can’t seem to stop giving me things these days. Your hyung is treating, so the younger brother just has to eat.”

It wasn’t just because I was acting polite and cute. The people whose lives would have been lost were saved thanks to me. I had saved people that even the great Divine Physician, White Qilin, could not. The grace of saving a life. I knew that for the people of the Gangho, that debt was incredibly heavy. It was only natural that the families of the survivors, the survivors themselves, and their friends and colleagues at the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency would look upon me with favor.

As I was thinking, I noticed a strange expression on Yeo Ha-ryoon’s face.

“Hyung…?” he repeated, as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.

Looking at his handsome face, which already showed promise of his future good looks, I felt a mischievous urge.

“I decided I’m the hyung, didn’t I? And this is what hyungs do.”

“Ugh, but…”

It seemed he still hadn’t fully accepted it. Yeo Ha-ryoon stared at the sparrow skewer I handed him, then finally took a bite. His eyes widened. He took another bite, and another, and soon he was gobbling it down.

There, there. It’s tough being an orphan all alone.

Wasn’t this something I had wished for my whole life? To have a family, like other kids. I had often looked with envy at the older brothers and sisters buying snacks for their younger siblings.

I clapped Yeo Ha-ryoon on the back. “Live your life to the fullest, kid. Don’t be discouraged. You’ve got your hyung now.”

“Even though you don’t have any internal energy?”

“What’s the big deal? Look at all the people here. They’re all living just fine without internal energy. This is the problem with you Murim folks. You don’t treat people without internal energy like humans. If you have martial arts, do you not need to eat? Do you not need a house? Do you walk around naked?”

I answered shamelessly. At first, it sounded like nonsense, but the more you listened to me, the more you started to get sucked in.

“Ah, tanghulu! I’ll go buy some, so wait here a second.”

I bought a few sticks of tanghulu for Yeo Ha-ryoon. The sight of the hawthorn berries coated in glistening sugar syrup made my mouth water.

“Here’s the money.”

I hadn’t been in this world for long, but I was already adept at making payments. Was it because of my experience doing volunteer work abroad? I quickly handed the coins to the vendor before he could even state the price.

Just then, I heard a shout from behind me. “You little brat!”

Hearing the sounds of a fight, I ran back with the tanghulu. Unsurprisingly, a crowd had gathered. In the middle of it were Yeo Ha-ryoon and a group of burly men. It was clear a fight had broken out.

To pick a fight with a little kid like that… those guys are real trash.

There are scumbags everywhere you go. It seemed this place was no exception. At least they had the decency not to draw their swords. One of the men swung a fist at Yeo Ha-ryoon.

His afterimage vanished. Ssk- He reappeared right behind the man.

Paak!

It was a light kick, with no internal energy behind it, but the grown man’s back bent like a bow.

“What the—!”

Before he could even finish, Yeo Ha-ryoon had swiftly taken down all three of them. He had won. It was a fight so one-sided it couldn’t even be called a battle. The crowd murmured in surprise.

“To take down the Three Dogs, he must be the young master of some prestigious clan, right?”

Unsurprisingly, their nickname had “dog” in it.

“Those bastards were always flipping stalls and hitting old ladies. This is so satisfying.”

Hehehe, that’s my younger brother. I felt a surge of pride. Now we could just eat our tanghulu and head back.

At that moment, Yeo Ha-ryoon grabbed the arm of one of the fallen thugs and twisted it backwards.

Crack—

“Kuaaaaaaaah!”

A wretched scream echoed through the market. Yeo Ha-ryoon, ignoring it, grabbed the man’s other leg and twisted it as well.

CRACK—

“Kaaargh! Kuaaaargh!”

Then, he climbed on top of him and began to relentlessly pound the man’s face with his fists. The sound of a skull fracturing rang out. The onlookers froze, horrified by the methodical, brutal cruelty.

I ran forward.