From that moment on, he became completely absorbed in the Seven Plum Swords. He frantically immersed himself in the formula day and night, forgetting even his meals. He was puffed up with the dream of personally reproducing the countless sword traces left on the hemispherical ceiling with his own body. Since the senior swordsman had consistently started and ended in the same place, the sword traces on the hemispherical wall were not entangled in disorder but overlapped in multiple layers following a single trajectory, making it very convenient for his training.

It seemed his comprehension ability for martial arts wasn’t too bad. Perhaps there was a very high probability that he possessed qualities surpassing the imagination of ordinary people. Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible to reach the realm of Sword Fragrance at that age. Anyway, he practically lived in that Seven Plum Cave for the entire winter that year.

The Seven Plum Swords formula was composed based on the theories and principles realized by the deceased person through enlightenment in his later years, so there were many abstruse and perplexing aspects that were difficult to understand with the senses of that time. It wasn’t that interpretation was impossible, but the effects of practicing according to the theory were questionable.

Since the Seven Plum Swords was an untested sword technique, he decided to focus on training first and inform the sect later if it proved to be a proper sword technique. According to the precautions written separately below the formula, it was a fast-paced method that allowed for unrivaled speed of cultivation progress, so there was a high possibility of falling into delusions if not careful. Moreover, it was written that it was better not to recommend it to others if possible, and even if one fell into delusions, it was already warned, so please don’t hold any grudges. So how could he dare to report it to the sect?

Fortunately, at first, there were no particular problems in training. Most of the content of the formula revolved around new aspects of understanding and application of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, but it wasn’t so abstruse that he had to blame his own brain.

In this way, the training progressed day by day, and he could feel his skills improving daily. He could indulge in joy with an indescribable thrill. However, unfortunately, that thrill didn’t last long.

Perhaps the goddess of fate was intensely jealous of his joy and overflowing happiness, for despair unexpectedly came from a very absurd direction. After that cursed nightmare of a day, he fell into a miserable state where he couldn’t even use the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship properly, let alone the Seven Plum Swords.

He had fallen from the heavenly garden of ultimate joy and happiness to the thorny field of despair at the very bottom of the abyss, in a state of bare skin without any protection or buffer. Needless to say, after that, he was stigmatized as a foolish idiot who couldn’t even use the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship in the sect.

This is how the absurd and strange event of a direct disciple of the Huashan Sect being unable to properly use the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship occurred. And he had to endure the humiliation, contempt, and ridicule from his senior and junior martial brothers.

“It’s hard to believe even if I hear it ten more times.”

Jang-hong stared at Yoon Junho’s face with a half-believing expression. Yoon Junho’s face was flushed red with embarrassment. However, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

“But, but it’s true.”

“Who would believe such a ridiculous story? Even I find it utterly unbelievable. I’m sorry to say this, but I’m currently having serious doubts about your credibility.”

Jang-hong said, looking at Yoon Junho, the protagonist of the ridiculous comedy.

“No one in the sect believed my story either.”

Just like Hyo-ryong and Jang-hong, his sect members didn’t believe his physical struggles. Everyone dismissed it as a nonsensical excuse and only ridiculed him more.

“I wish all those facts were fictional too. If that were the case, there would be nothing more to ask for. The very fact of having such a foolish story is embarrassing in front of others.”

Yoon Junho was currently in a state of deep discouragement. It seemed his meeting with his senior brother and sister had taken away most of his motivation. However, it was understandable since he was rejected by his sect members, whom he should have relied on.

“At first, there was no problem learning the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship. But after a few years, one day, as I was using the sword, plum blossoms bloomed like an illusion, and the fragrance of plum blossoms ran rampant. At that moment, I felt dizzy and almost fainted. The rest was obvious. In an instant, my entire body was covered in hives, and my nerves were paralyzed. In the end, I dropped my sword and passed out. It was too itchy to hold onto. Since then, I haven’t dared to use not only the Seven Plum Swords but also the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship.”

He finished his story and waited for the laughter of others that always followed, but no one laughed. The ridicule that usually came after his story wasn’t heard today. Rather, a serious atmosphere dominated the entire room.

Hyo-ryong looked at Jang-hong with a meaningful gaze. Jang-hong also nodded as if responding to his gaze.

“Are you thinking the same as me?”

Jang-hong carefully opened his mouth. Hyo-ryong nodded.

“Yes, if my guess is correct, it’s…”

“The realm of Sword Fragrance.”

The two spoke in unison, confirming each other’s thoughts once again. Although it was a short phrase, it contained profound and countless meanings.

“The realm of Sword Fragrance? What’s that?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Bi Ryu-yeon asked. The sight of the two of them whispering and agreeing with each other about something he didn’t know wasn’t a pleasant scenery for Bi Ryu-yeon. It made him feel left out for no reason.

“I don’t know the details either, but…”

Jang-hong began to speak, starting with this sentence.

“It’s a unique characteristic and independent realm exclusive to the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship of the Huashan Sect, and its cause and reason haven’t been precisely clarified yet. According to the tradition—including some personal experiences—when the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship reaches a certain realm, to be precise, an extremely high realm, a subtle fragrance of plum blossoms is said to emanate from the sword energy. In other words, it’s as if the sword itself has become a plum tree, emitting fragrance. It’s a rare marvel. In the Huashan Sect, that astonishing and incomparably wondrous realm is referred to as the Realm of Sword Fragrance. There are countless speculations about this, but the most convincing theory is that it’s not unrelated to the Ziha Divine Technique, the unique internal cultivation method of the Huashan Sect practiced in the plum blossom-filled Huashan mountains.”

The Ziha Divine Technique was the supreme unique internal cultivation method of the Huashan Sect, a legendary divine technique that was only passed down to direct disciples. The reason why this divine technique was called the Ziha Divine Technique was that the higher the level of internal energy attained through this technique, the more the emitted energy would take on a purple hue. Along with the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, it was one of the two divine techniques that supported the Huashan Sect. There was a prerequisite that one must cultivate the Ziha Divine Technique to a certain level or higher in order for the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship to unleash its ultimate power.

Before Bi Ryu-yeon’s question could even be asked, Jang-hong didn’t hesitate to provide a detailed explanation of the Ziha Divine Technique. It was because he thought there was no way someone who didn’t know about the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship would know about the Ziha Divine Technique. Naturally, his guess was accurate without the slightest margin of error. Thanks to Jang-hong’s thorough explanation, Bi Ryu-yeon was spared the effort of asking questions.

Despite claiming not to know much, Jang-hong explained everything there was to know. He had a very detailed knowledge of the Realm of Sword Fragrance, which few people in the martial arts world were aware of. In that sense, Hyo-ryong, who had deduced the Realm of Sword Fragrance just by listening to Yoon Junho’s story, was undoubtedly an extraordinary person as well.

“Is that so? How fascinating. A human emitting fragrance like a flower. It could even be used as a human air freshener.”

Bi Ryu-yeon looked over Yoon Junho’s entire body with a meaningful gaze. For a moment, Yoon Junho felt goosebumps all over his body and a creepy chill, but he couldn’t figure out the source of that feeling.

“Moreover, no one other than swordsmen from the Huashan Sect has ever experienced that Realm of Sword Fragrance. As of now, that realm is limited to the Huashan Sect. Even within the Huashan Sect, few people know about it.”

“Why?”

“Because the number of people who have reached the Realm of Sword Fragrance is extremely rare. Even within the past hundred years, the number of people who have reached the Realm of Sword Fragrance can be counted on one hand.”

“The creator of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship must have been a plum blossom enthusiast who loved plum blossoms immensely.”

Bi Ryu-yeon looked at Jang-hong, seeking agreement.

“I suppose so.”

Jang-hong reluctantly agreed.

“Maybe that person loved plum blossoms so much that he wanted to become a plum tree himself. So perhaps he deliberately created a martial art that could reach such a realm. It must be true.”

Bi Ryu-yeon concluded that the creator of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship must have been someone who loved plum blossoms so much that he wished to become a plum tree itself. However, how could a fellow with such a strange hypersensitivity, who avoided plum blossoms like the plague, reach that realm? This might be why the world is an interesting place.

“The Realm of Sword Fragrance…”

Jang-hong and Hyo-ryong knew well what kind of realm it was. A dreamlike realm that ordinary people could never easily enter, a realm where the sword emits fragrance like flowers—how could that be an ordinary realm? It was clear that it couldn’t be reached with a shallow attainment of the Ziha Divine Technique and a meager understanding of the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship. Yet, that frail-looking fellow was the master of that realm… It was still an unbelievable matter.

Hypersensitivity refers to a kind of physical side effect that occurs when exposed to a specific substance or scent. In other words, according to the law of causality, there must be a cause for there to be a result. There was no way a side effect could occur without the presence of a scent. Then, where did the scent that triggered his hives come from? Did it fall from the sky or suddenly emerge from the ground without warning?

Of course, it meant that it came from his sword or his body. In other words, it established the fact that he had reached the Realm of Sword Fragrance, where he could emit the fragrance of plum blossoms from his sword. Without the Realm of Sword Fragrance, there was no way to make the fragrance of plum blossoms naturally emanate from the bare human body. No other methods or cases had been reported yet. Perhaps it was certain that even if one searched the world until death, no other method besides the Realm of Sword Fragrance could be found.

‘Is it really that legendary realm? Am I dreaming or having a serious delusion?’

Jang-hong looked at Hyo-ryong again, seeking agreement. Hyo-ryong also nodded, agreeing with Jang-hong’s opinion. It wasn’t that he was treating Jang-hong as a crazy person, but he was agreeing with the speculation that Yoon Junho had experienced reaching the legendary Realm of Sword Fragrance.

It was questionable why a fellow who was a direct disciple of the Huashan Sect wasn’t aware of that fact, but the Realm of Sword Fragrance, where the fragrance of plum blossoms fantastically bloomed along with the sword, was a high realm that could only be encountered when the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship and the supporting Ziha Divine Technique were refined to the tenth level or higher. Moreover, he claimed to have seen the illusion of plum blossoms in full bloom while wielding the sword along with the fragrance.

The illusion of plum blossoms in full bloom!

The illusion of plum blossoms drawn by sword energy was a high realm that ordinary people could never easily reach, where one could barely witness a few blossoms only when the Plum Blossom Swordsmanship reached the realm of Sword Energy Flower. It was undoubtedly an even higher realm than the realm of Sword Energy Flower.

Therefore, this fellow had accomplished an incredibly remarkable feat without even knowing it himself. If the elders of the Huashan Sect had known about this, they might have jumped with joy, saying that a prodigious talent had emerged. Of course, if he couldn’t use it, it would be a useless possession even if he had it.

In any case, it was clearly proven that Yoon Junho, regardless of his current skill level, was an outstanding talent with no less aptitude. Then the problem was the fact that he couldn’t use what he had learned…

“What should we do in this situation?”

Jang-hong casually asked for opinions from those around him. It wasn’t a serious congenital condition or incurable disease like the Five Sounds Severed Pulse or the Nine Orifices Blocked Pulse, but a bizarre and perplexing problem where he had instantly fallen from a supreme master to a pitiful novice due to a trivial and ridiculous illness like hypersensitivity. Naturally, in such a situation, he couldn’t handle everything alone. Unless he was a god or a superhuman, he definitely needed help from others.

Silence continued for a while to enhance the thought process and corresponding countermeasures. Wouldn’t it be more abnormal to expect this matter to be resolved instantly without any contemplation?

“In this situation…”

Bi Ryu-yeon, who had been maintaining the position of an observer due to his lack of knowledge in the series of conversations, opened his mouth first as if he had come up with a good idea. Immediately, the gazes of the three people were focused on Bi Ryu-yeon’s mouth. They had never expected a solution to come out of his mouth first. That’s how much Bi Ryu-yeon was being treated as a useless bystander in this conversation.

“It’s…”

The unspoken pressure to continue without hesitation was applied to Bi Ryu-yeon.

“Human remodeling!”

As expected, it seemed to be an answer that was far from a constructive opinion.

“What, human remodeling?”

Nodding again, Bi Ryu-yeon smiled. Seeing that smile, Jang-hong and Hyo-ryong thought, ‘Is that guy in his right mind?’ but at the same time, they could tell that it wasn’t a completely absurd story.

“Yes, human remodeling. If the body reacts adversely to the fragrance of plum blossoms, the only way is to remodel the body. Isn’t correcting what’s wrong the shortcut to solving the problem?”

Although it sounded somewhat unsettling, it was also a reasonable statement in its own way. However, it couldn’t help but sound absurd and ridiculous. So, it was a solution with many problems in convincing others at once.

“I hope you don’t get lost and become a missing child.”

“Or fall off a cliff or walk on a thorny path.”

“Instead of such childish suggestions, let’s explore more constructive and progressive methods.”

It was clear that both of them had not yet grasped Bi Ryu-yeon’s intention.

“Oh my, this is the most definitive method. Do you have any other good ideas?”

Of course, there couldn’t be any such thing.

Everyone remained silent like mutes who had eaten honey. So, they decided to give it a try and positively consider that direction. Fortunately, they had a tendency to advance boldly and daringly once they set a direction.