Farewell

Another month or so passed.

Her Sword Cultivator Training had reached a certain level.

After receiving daily teachings on the Sword Path of the Falling Star Style, her Sword Intent now naturally imbues her Flying Sword even when she relaxes her strength.

Above all, the depth contained in each and every move of her Flying Sword was incomparable to what it was before.

She still could not manifest Star River One Line and Seongdo Gaecheon, but their forms within her mindscape were becoming a little clearer each day.

As she harbored all three types of Sword Intent in her mindscape at once and polished the Falling Star Style, the Sword Forms began to reflect one another at some point.

Polishing the Falling Star Style made the outline of Star River One Line a little clearer.

In turn, as the imagery of Seongdo Gaecheon deepened, the starting point of the Falling Star Style became a layer more distinct.

She was coming to understand - not with her head, but with her senses - that a point embraces a line, and a line embraces a plane.

The Pacheon Sword Saint’s teachings were short, but their depth was extraordinary.

Pointing out her Sword Path happened only three or four times a day at most.

Yet a single teaching contained more than ten repetitions.

“If you cut it off here, you die here. Only cut it off where it must be cut.”

“Relax your strength, but do not relax your will.”

“A Flying Sword is not about flying the sword, but sending forth your Sword Intent.”

It was not just once or twice that a single short phrase saved her ten days of Training in correcting her Sword Path, so while the time spent learning the Flying Sword from the Pacheon Sword Saint was short, she reaped much.

Thanks to this, the sight of a Cultivator at the Qi Condensation Stage, 7th Level, unfolding the Falling Star Style with a Flying Sword had reached a level that even a decent Sword Cultivator could not easily look down upon.

Because she had not merely awakened the three types of Sword Intent, but was nurturing them together within her mindscape.

It could be said that her understanding of the Sword Art was actually deeper than that of a Sword Cultivator at the same stage.

However, Baek-Cheong herself was unaware of this change.

Since her only point of comparison was the Pacheon Sword Saint, she had no way of gauging where she stood as a Sword Cultivator.

‘Rather than a Sword Cultivator, I guess I’m more of a Practitioner who’s a bit good at using a Flying Sword.’

This was the extent of her self-evaluation.

There was one more thing she had not realized.

After harboring the three types of Sword Intent in her mindscape and endlessly polishing the Falling Star Style, faint Sword Qi was seeping out of her body even in normal times when she wasn’t holding a Flying Sword.

The unique aura that emanates from a Sword Cultivator who has undergone long Training is called Sword Fragrance.

It was a phenomenon that mainly appeared in Sword Cultivators who had polished their swords for a long time.

But it was thanks to her deepening enlightenment from harboring three types of Sword Intent and endlessly polishing one of them.

However, Baek-Cheong was completely unaware that Sword Fragrance was wafting from her.

Only the Pacheon Sword Saint noticed this fact, a strange light gleaming in his eyes.

* * *

It was one morning.

Even after Baek-Cheong finished her Flying Sword Training as usual and withdrew her sword, the Pacheon Sword Saint stood there for a long time, unlike his usual self.

It was a situation where he would normally point out parts to fix or give her the next task, but he just silently looked at Baek-Cheong.

Sensing something strange, Baek-Cheong raised her head.

A faintly different expression lingered on his dry, emotionless face, but she couldn’t guess what he was looking at.

Eventually, the Pacheon Sword Saint slowly nodded his head.

“This is enough to look the part.”

That short phrase carried a compliment so rare it could be counted on one hand during her several months of Training.

The Pacheon Sword Saint rarely complimented anyone.

Because it was natural to him, he couldn’t help but be blunt.

“…Thank you.”

However, Baek-Cheong understood the meaning behind his words and bowed her head in greeting.

And a brief silence flowed between the two.

Before long, the Pacheon Sword Saint slipped his hand into his sleeve and pulled it back out.

When he did, a single sword was held in his hand.

The scabbard was a deep indigo.

The only decoration was a thin silver rim wrapped around both ends of the scabbard, without even a speck of extravagance.

It was a sword with a concise and straight form, much like the Pacheon Sword Saint himself.

“It would be strange for my Disciple not to have a decent sword.”

Hiding his sentiments behind his dry expression, the Pacheon Sword Saint held out the sword.

“The sword’s name is the Ilseong Sword.”

“One star.”

At this, Baek-Cheong blinked and paused.

It was a name that brought to mind the Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style.

She carefully accepted the sword with both hands, finding it lighter than she expected.

When she pulled the sword halfway out of the scabbard, a metallic hue close to silver was revealed.

Unlike a polished luster, it was a light harbored by the metal itself, and a faint pattern flowed along the blade, looking like stars drifting across the night sky.

‘It’s pretty.’

As soon as the thought occurred to her, the Pacheon Sword Saint added an explanation.

“It is an unranked sword, but it is made of meteoric iron so that it can be used effectively even up to the 2nd Realm. Its Spiritual Energy Conduction is outstanding, making it specialized for unfolding Sword Forms, so you will be able to use it whether you grip it as a handheld sword or fly it as a Flying Sword.”

At the mention that it could also be used as a handheld sword, she inwardly tilted her head.

‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to use it as a handheld sword in my entire life.’

It was puzzling that he mentioned a handheld sword when he knew better than anyone what a clumsy person she was, but whether it was a lingering expectation that the path of a Physical Cultivator might open up for her later, or a Sword Cultivator’s stubbornness that a sword should be usable in both ways, either way, there seemed to be a reason befitting the Pacheon Sword Saint.

Whatever the case, the important part for her was the Flying Sword aspect.

If it was meteoric iron, not only was its Spiritual Energy Conduction high, but it was also an outstanding material as a vessel to contain Sword Intent.

Until now, she had just been using the wooden swords in the Training Ground to fly her Flying Sword, but if she applied the Falling Star Style to a sword forged from meteoric iron, it would likely be on a completely different level from now.

‘Isn’t this incredibly expensive?’

Meteoric iron was a metal forged by melting the remnants of stars that had fallen from the sky.

She could roughly guess that it was a rare material counted among the best even in the Cultivation World.

To hand over a sword made of such a material as a gift.

Baek-Cheong slid the sword back into its scabbard and bowed deeply.

“Master’s grace is as vast as the rivers and seas; as your Disciple, I will engrave it in my bones so as not to be a burden.”

It was gratitude welling up from her small chest.

The Pacheon Sword Saint merely shook his head lightly as if it were no big deal.

Baek-Cheong lifted the Ilseong Sword again and examined it from various angles.

A faint energy was transmitted from inside the scabbard.

It was a strange sensation, as if Sword Intent was naturally seeping into her just by holding it.

“If I contain the Falling Star Style in this…”

While she was steeped in anticipation as she looked at the sword, another thought spread through a corner of her mind.

The Pacheon Sword Saint was gifting her a sword.

He handed over a sword after evaluating that she looked the part.

“By the way, is he planning to leave?”

The Pacheon Sword Saint’s stay at the Yeonha Baek Clan was a sojourn with a set time limit from the beginning.

It was the Pacheon Sword Saint’s own words that he would make her look the part.

If she now looked the part, there was no reason for him to stay any longer.

As if noticing her inkling, the Pacheon Sword Saint cast his gaze outside the Training Ground and opened his mouth.

“I do have the desire to watch over you longer, but it is now time to tie up this matter.”

Baek-Cheong nodded silently.

It was the Pacheon Sword Saint who had said he was touring the Continent because he had a matter to handle before ascending to the Soul Formation stage.

He had also mentioned that it was time to finish his tour since people were starting to get suspicious.

Now that his pretext was finalized by taking her as a Named Disciple, leaving was the natural next step.

It was something she had known in her head for a while.

However, now that it was actually spoken, she felt strange.

“Even though you are my Disciple.”

The Pacheon Sword Saint withdrew his gaze and looked down at Baek-Cheong.

“The Cultivation World is a perilous place. Always prioritize your safety first.”

It was a dry tone, but the meaning contained within was warm.

“I will keep that in mind.”

The Pacheon Sword Saint nodded once in satisfaction.

A brief silence settled over the Training Ground.

The morning sunlight lay slanted across the floor, and a single gust of wind blew past.

“When the time comes, let us meet again.”

The Pacheon Sword Saint opened his mouth to make a promise with no set date.

She didn’t know when they would be able to meet again, or if a meeting was even possible.

The matter he had to handle before ascending to Soul Formation was of a kind she couldn’t guess, nor could she guess how long it would take.

But Baek-Cheong bowed her head and replied.

“Yes, I will definitely see you again.”

A faint change flickered across the Pacheon Sword Saint’s dry face, but it vanished in the span of a single breath.

It was too faint to be called a smile, but it was distinctly different from his usual expressionless face.

Soon after, the Pacheon Sword Saint turned around.

After turning around, he left the Training Ground with quick steps.

His back, devoid of hesitation or lingering attachment, headed in the direction of the Family Head’s Hall, and the trailing edge of his shabby robe receded into the morning sunlight.

Before long, the presence left behind by the Pacheon Sword Saint quietly vanished from the grounds of the Yeonha Baek Clan.

He had been quiet when he arrived, but he was even quieter when he left.

Baek-Cheong stood there, remaining there for a while.

She felt the weight of the Ilseong Sword in her hands.

It felt light, yet solid inside.

The silver rim on the scabbard shone gently, catching the morning sunlight.

“He really left.”

The person whose face she had met every morning at the Training Ground for several months had departed.

Even while watching a clumsy person who, at the single command to grip a handheld sword, collapsed in the same posture and the same direction every time.

She recalled the patience with which he had repeated the exact same teachings with that same dry face.

The single remark he made with a brief nod when she first manifested the Falling Star Style with a Flying Sword was that even if she walked the path of the sword as a Practitioner, there would be a place for her to go.

And at the time, he hadn’t interrogated her reckless act of trying to peek at the lightning energy, but instead set up a Barrier for her to block even the eyes of the Heavenly Dao.

It was a short time if one called it short, but what she had received was not small.

The three types of Sword Intent engraved in her mindscape, the Ilseong Sword in her hand, and the protection of being the Inheritor Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder.

‘I’ve received a lot.’

She sincerely thought so.

At the same time, another emotion rose up.

Emptiness and relief coexisted.

The relief might have even slightly outweighed the emptiness.

Because her morning Training time was completely freed up, it meant she could spend that much more time browsing the forum.

‘I guess I won’t even have a reason to hold a sword in my hand anymore.’

She was leaving behind an unknown sense of regret that even she herself didn’t understand.

Baek-Cheong simply placed the Ilseong Sword into her Storage Platform and left the Training Ground.