Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Kang So-san, who held the sword in his hand, looked around with a dumbfounded look on his face. 

The other members of the New Dragon Battalion were looking at him with mild interest. 

Only Sa Ryong-hui was carefully looking at So-san. 

“Swing your sword.”

Kang So-san once again looked around, gripping his sword tightly. 

He then got into position to swing his sword with a determined look. 

In fact, Sa Ryong-hui had a pretty good impression of Kang So-san so far. 

The traces on the wall left by Woon-seong were the source of admiration, but the true value was recognized by Sa Ryong-hui.

Shua. 

The scrap sword in Kang So-san’s hands split the air. 

There was a flash as the blade slashed through the air. 

Sa Rong-hui, who was watching, slowly lowered his head. He made a “pfft”, as he was unable to contain his laughter. 

It was obviously pitiful, but he didn’t have to tell Kang So-san anything, in case it made the young boy sad. 

Kang So-san was too tense as he gripped his sword. 

You use more power than necessary when swinging. Sa Ryong-hui sighed. 

“You said that the person who left this mark would accept you as his disciple if you could replicate it?”

“Yes,” Kang So-san nodded. 

Sa Ryong-hui looked at the mark again. Perfect energy control.

“These traces can’t be mimicked by a child like you. Even a man who’s been practicing the sword for over a decade wouldn’t be confident he could make a mark like this.”

“Is it that impressive?” Peng Hak asked, disapproving of Sa Ryong-hui’s conclusion. “I think we could do it if we tried. Don’t give the man too much credit.”

Sa Ryong-hui shrugged, not wanting to provoke Peng Hak more. “You and I have different opinions. Anyways, it’s just what I think. And if I’m right, maybe this guy didn’t leave the mark hoping that the boy could perfectly replicate it.”

He raised a finger, pressing it into the carved notch on the wall. It went to the first joint. 

“Look how deep this is.”

Peng Hak did not argue. Although he did not like what Sa Ryong-hui was saying, he agreed that it was a deep mark. 

No one in their right mind would think that an untrained child could make such a perfect sword cut. 

Peng Hak turned slightly more solemn and Sa Ryong-hui asked, “How long have you been cultivating?”

“It hasn’t been one year.”

Impressive.Sa Ryong-hui said, “Not bad.”

It wasn’t an empty compliment. 

Although it wasn’t terrific, given that it had been less than a year, the boy’s muscle development seemed pretty good.

That way, it wasn’t impossible to offer some pointers.

“Are you cultivating internal strength?”

Kang So-san nodded. 

Sa Ryong-hui quickly reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist. 

If Kang So-san had experience in Murim, he would never have allowed some stranger to grab his wrist — since he would know what it meant to show his wrist to someone else. 

However, Kang So-san was just an ordinary boy who had barely begun cultivating and had no experience in Murim. 

That’s why he relaxed and allowed Sa Ryong-hui to read his pulse. 

“Three months, or something like that. It’s not a lot of energy, but it’s pure. Maybe it could be filled faster if the energy was impure.”

Sa Ryong-hui let his wrist go. “Will you swing once again?”

At first, Kang So-san swung the sword because the man was interested in the markings on the wall. 

But it was different now. 

Now the man knew what the story was. 

So Kang So-san asked, “Why?”

Sa Ryong-hui smiled and responded, “Don’t you want to make a trace like that? I can give you a bit of help.”

Sa Ryong-hui smiled, filled with good energy. What’s wrong with helping the boy a little?

Seeing the smile, Kang Ye-ha was slightly worried. The people in front of her were strangers. Strong ones, at that. 

Otherwise, the other guests would have been complaining. But the other patrons were quietly minding their own businesses.

Still, expert advice would be of great help to So-san.

Kang So-san wielded his sword once more. 

He wasn’t as tense as before, but it was still way off. 

He was far from the level of striking with internal energy, rather than relying on physical muscle. 

Sa Ryong-hui quickly realized the problem. “Why don’t you hold the sword more loosely?”

Kang So-san tilted his head. “Doesn’t making such a mark need a lot of strength?”

“Of course, but what you need to use is not the strength of your arm.” 

Sa Ryong-hui pressed the area under Kang So-san’s navel gently. It was the same place where he felt warmth when he cultivated. 

“Think of this area as a vessel for something. Imagine pulling the energy contained here like you are drawing water from a well and sending it into the sword.”

“What does that have to do with grasping the sword loosely?”

“Gripping the sword means that unnecessary force will enter. In addition, technique and breathing are things that come to mind naturally. If you grip too tightly, your mind will become tense and your spirit will wander, preventing you from properly exerting strength.”

It was natural for someone to realize this after studying martial arts for a while. 

But Kang So-san was young and inexperienced. 

Did he realize something from those words?

Kang So-san closed his eyes and tried to follow Sa Ryong-hui’s words. 

There wasn’t an epiphany or sudden enlightenment, but he seemed to know what to do. 

A simple piece of advice, through which he couldn’t help but slightly improve. 

“Let me try again.”

This time, Kang So-san asked Sa Ryong-hui to look at his sword movements.

Sa Ryong-hui nodded.

Let’s loosen my grip first.

Kang So-san loosened the grip on his sword. The sword in his hands started to rattle.

It was because he was using too much energy.

Kang So-san tightened his grip to steady the blade.

Carefully, he experimented with his strength and grip, like he was cradling a small bird in his hands.

As he did so, he continued to imagine: Like drawing water from a well…

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

It was not something that he could do at the first try, just because he told himself to do it.

However, he continued to imagine. He was eager to do it and to do it well.

He didn’t know when the person who made the promise would return, but until then, he wanted to make a mark just like him. 

Like drawing water…

It seemed like something happened. 

All of a sudden, his spirit moved and followed the will of the qi. Something warm spread through Kang So-san’s body. 

Kang So-san did not miss this change, dragging it towards his fingertips. 

Right now!

“Hiya!”

He wielded his sword in a practiced maneuver. Kang So-san’s sword slashed diagonally. 

This time, something amazing happened. 

The sword was swung much smoother than any other time before this. 

It was also much more powerful. 

Even though nothing truly happened, just the usage of qi was intimidating enough. 

“Wow!” Kang So-san exclaimed subconsciously. 

Sa Ryong-hui turned to him and said, “Now you can be unashamed and call yourself a martial artist.”

As he said, Kang So-san still lacked experience, but what he just did was on the boundary between an ordinary civilian and a martial artist. 

Sa Ryong-hui did not know whether Kang So-san would be able to continue down this road, but he had at least directed the boy onto the right path. Whether the boy had the strength to carry on was up to himself. 

“Thank you!”

Kang So-san hurriedly bowed and thanked, noticing his own swing was much different than before. 

Sa Ryong-hui nodded and looked back at the sword mark left on the walls of the inn with a complicated expression. 

“I’d love to meet the man who made this mark.”

***

After all the guests who came during the day returned home, a tranquil silence covered the inn as always. 

Inside, Kang So-san was relying on the light of a small oil lamp to stare at the walls of the inn. 

To be precise, he was staring at the sword mark, not at the wall. 

In his head, he remembered what happened earlier today. 

Although his swing had gotten stronger, it felt like the internal energy accumulated in his body had been reduced by more than half. 

It was hard to do that with a sword, so how hard must it be to leave such a trace with chopsticks?

It didn’t look very hard to that man at all. Then again, that was the same guy who hurled chopsticks into the air and killed several people in an instant. 

It couldn’t have been very hard for such a person to leave a trace like this. 

Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t tell them about that.

Instead of looking at the mark, he suddenly thought about those who had helped him earlier. No matter how much he thought about it, Kang So-san had not told them about how the mysterious man had used chopsticks to kill his enemies. 

He couldn’t even believe his eyes, so how could they believe his words?

Thank you, though. I can’t believe you let me use your sword for a while.

Kang So-san thought of Sa Ryong-hui and smiled. Thanks to his advice, he was able to get a better grasp of the blade. 

When he thought about it, he was suddenly curious. With a burst of qi, would he be able to leave such a mark on the walls of the inn?

Shall I try?

Kang So-san thought he should and so carefully picked up his sword. 

That’s when the bell at the entrance to the inn rang. 

Ding~

Someone walked inside.