Chapter 85
The next morning, when he entered the Training Ground, the Pacheon Sword Saint was already standing there holding a wooden sword.
As Baek-Cheong approached, the Pacheon Sword Saint did not hand over the wooden sword.
Instead, he simply stared quietly at Baek-Cheong.
The Sword Saint’s gaze was directed at Baek-Cheong’s body, but it seemed to be looking straight through to something beyond.
A deep gaze that seemed to peer right into his mindscape.
It was the same look in his eyes as when he had noticed Baek-Cheong comprehending the Falling Star Style.
“You have awakened the third Sword Form.”
Baek-Cheong flinched at being found out so instantly.
He had guessed this might happen when he awakened the Sword Intent, but the man’s ghost-like perception was terrifying.
“How did you awaken it?”
The Pacheon Sword Saint asked with a voice that held a very slight hint of curiosity compared to usual.
It was impossible not to be curious when the Sword Intent of an untaught Sword Form had taken root overnight.
And Baek-Cheong was flustered by the unexpected question.
He couldn’t exactly say that he had posted a 'shooshook' thread on the Nameless Forum and realized the Sword Cultivator Dao Friends had deciphered the Sword Path for him.
“Well… as I was mulling over the Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style last night…”
He trailed off, fumbling through his mind.
“I was going like this and that… shooshook, and then I just realized it.”
It was an embarrassing explanation even as he spat it out.
However, the Pacheon Sword Saint slowly nodded his head.
“You must have awakened it naturally while reflecting on the Sword Intent.”
He seemed to have extracted his own meaning from the absurd answer.
A faint tremor flickered in the Pacheon Sword Saint’s eyes.
It was a sight rarely seen beneath his dry, emotionless expression.
“It is incredibly faint, but it has definitely taken root. I teach you one thing, and you awaken not just two, but what lies beyond.”
The Pacheon Sword Saint murmured in genuine Admiration.
But the deeper his Admiration, the darker the shadow cast over his eyes.
No matter how much aptitude he showed for the Flying Sword, he was a Disciple who could not inherit the legacy of a Physical Cultivator.
The brighter his Talent shone, the deeper the regret became.
He shook his head, dismissing his rising thoughts.
After a brief silence, he spoke in a low voice.
“The third Sword Form is called Seongdo Gaecheon.”
Falling Star Style, Star River One Line, Seongdo Gaecheon.
A Sword Art that connected from a point to a line, and from a line to a plane.
“Since the Sword Intent has already taken root, the meaning of the Sword Form must be within you. However, your current realm cannot handle it yet, so banish any thought of attempting it recklessly. Even Star River One Line was cut short due to a lack of spiritual energy, and Seongdo Gaecheon consumes several times more.”
Baek-Cheong obediently bowed his head while mulling over the name.
Now that it had a name, the shape of the Sword Form floating in his mindscape felt much clearer.
“Refine the Falling Star Style first. Even with a Flying Sword, repeating it will make the Sword Intent clearer.”
The Pacheon Sword Saint neutralized his expression and nodded.
.
.
.
From then on, Sword Cultivator Training using the Flying Sword became the established routine.
The Pacheon Sword Saint had him repeat the Falling Star Style while correcting the minute details of his Sword Path.
The Knack for gathering energy into a single point, the method to eliminate tremors from the Sword Path, and the sense for changing the speed and direction of the Flying Sword.
With a handheld sword, his body hadn’t been able to keep up, making correction impossible, but the Flying Sword was different.
When the Pacheon Sword Saint pointed something out, he could modify it immediately, and that modification was perfectly maintained in the next movement.
“Even if you do not walk the path of a Physical Cultivator, there is no harm in having sturdy bones, muscles, and blood qi. Since you have the Jade Lotus Physique, you should be able to advance as a Physical Cultivator using only medicinal pills without arduous tempering. Do not forget to take your Dangoldan and Janghyeoldan.”
One day, the Pacheon Sword Saint spoke as he set down his wooden sword.
Then he took out a jade bottle again and handed over top-grade medicinal pills.
[Uh, well…]
Baek-Cheong politely accepted the medicinal pills, but his feelings were complicated.
However, since he had lessened the risk of being forced to become an Inheritor Disciple, there was no reason to risk pill toxicity by consuming Top-grade Medicinal Pills.
[I should make these into Inscribed Pills too.]
Medicinal pills for Physical Cultivators had strong effects on the body, so it was fine as long as he took them separately.
The number of medicinal pills he periodically consumed had increased, but since he didn’t need to worry about pill toxicity, he didn’t mind.
“One who wields a handheld sword carves the Sword Path into one’s bones and muscles, while one who wields a Flying Sword carves the Sword Path into one’s Divine Sense.”
Like that, Baek-Cheong absorbed the teachings one by one every day.
He was Training to equip himself with the proper appearance of a Sword Cultivator.
As long as he could skillfully execute the Falling Star Style with a Flying Sword, he would have no trouble posing as a Sword Cultivator and the Pacheon Sword Saint’s Disciple in anyone’s eyes.
And his time outside of Sword Cultivator Training was not much different from usual.
The days continued with him running Puppetry in the Pill Refining Room to expand the process of Refining Inscribed Pills, logging into the Nameless Forum in his spare time to skim through unread posts, and Expelling Turbid Qi before going to sleep.
Thanks to his Sword Cultivator Training switching to the Flying Sword, the Training didn’t strain his body, and because the Training ended that much faster, the time he could dedicate to forum-surfing increased, which left him satisfied.
* * *
Before he knew it, a month and a half had passed.
It was a day when he was filling his Dantian using only natural Qi Absorption as usual.
However, when he tried to absorb spiritual energy, his Dantian would no longer accept it.
It felt like pouring water into a jar until the surface reached the very brim, unable to take in even a single drop more.
“Huh?”
Baek-Cheong contemplated his inner self and examined his Dantian.
His Dantian, which had been like a vast, vast, vast, vast, vast, vast ocean, was completely full.
It was finally time to break through his realm.
[Wait, I have to cross a major Boundary - no, a minor Boundary, right?]
However, the pressure of the Barrier felt from his Dantian was extraordinary.
Breaking through from the 3rd to the 4th level previously had also been a minor Boundary, but he had barely managed to pierce it even after mobilizing a Top-grade Realm-Breaking Pill and Quasi-Unification simultaneously.
Because his spirit root had grown through the Five Elements Mutual Generation Cycle and his Dantian was far from ordinary, even a minor Boundary was reminiscent of a major Boundary.
[This won’t be easy.]
Baek-Cheong steeled his resolve and moved his feet.
He headed to the Back Mountain to focus his mind and start fresh.
The name of the Back Mountain towering behind the Yeonha Baek Clan was Baeknyeon Mountain.
He had called it the Back Mountain since he was young, but he remembered the name while explaining it to the kids his age at the banquet.
The entirety of Baeknyeon Mountain was the Clan’s Training Ground, surrounded by a large Formation.
When he informed elder Jin that he would be using a Training Room, the elder’s grayish eyebrows rose.
“Oho, you’re raising your realm? How commendable.”
Elder Jin laughed heartily and opened the Barrier to a C-grade Training Room.
Passing through the cave paths tangled like a Labyrinth, he stood before the stone door of the C-grade Training Room.
He used his jade plaque to open the stone door and stepped inside.
A single Jade Flat Platform, a Spirit Gathering Formation carved into the floor, and densely settled spiritual energy.
It was the same Training Room as when he had come before.
“Huu…”
Baek-Cheong climbed onto the Jade Flat Platform and got into position.
He closed his eyes and looked into his Dantian.
The thick Barrier of the 7th level stood firm.
He had expected it, but actually looking at it made him dizzy.
At a rough guess, he thought it was on par with the major Boundary of Qi Condensation cultivators.
[Still, the Breakthrough Method is the same.]
It was the method of imbuing Quasi-Unification with the Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style and smashing it down toward a single point on the Barrier.
However, there was one thing different from before.
His Dantian had grown wider than before.
The Amount of Spiritual Energy fully packed into his 6th-level Dantian couldn’t even be compared to that at the 5th level.
As a result, the duration of his Quasi-Unification was bound to be longer.
[Here I go.]
He gathered all the Five Elements Qi from within his Dantian.
The five attributes converged at the center of his Dantian, clumping together into a single form.
Quasi-Unification.
The unstable state right before the Five Elements Qi completely merged.
As the five attributes condensed into one, they harbored an explosive power.
Once the Quasi-Unification was formed, he loaded the Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style onto it.
The destructive power of the Quasi-Unification focused into a single point and charged toward the Barrier.
A heavy impact was transmitted from inside his Dantian.
However, only a hairline crack appeared on the surface of the Barrier.
If it had been the 5th level, the Barrier would have crumbled in a single strike.
[Not yet.]
The form of the Quasi-Unification did not scatter.
Because he had a lot of spiritual energy stockpiled in his Dantian, he was maintaining the form of the Quasi-Unification.
He loaded the deepened Sword Intent of the Falling Star Style even more clearly, pressing against the Barrier.
The Barrier resisted, but Baek-Cheong did not back down.
He maintained the Quasi-Unification by adding even the spiritual energy supplied through the Spirit Gathering Formation.
[I have to hold on!]
His qi meridians tightened as if screaming, but he clenched his teeth and pushed through.
At the point where the hairline crack had spread across nearly half the Barrier, the form of the Quasi-Unification began to blur.
The Spirit Gathering Formation alone was insufficient, and his spiritual energy was hitting rock bottom.
He had thought about taking an Inscribed Spirit Gathering Pill or an Inscribed realm-breaking pill if push came to shove, but he tried to endure it with his own strength.
[Just a little more…!]
However, there was nothing left in his Dantian.
The form of the Quasi-Unification was about to unravel.
Just as he thought his natural breakthrough was going to fail
An unknown energy surged from deep within his Dantian.
[…What is this?]
It was an energy that surged without warning or signal.
Its nature was different from both the Five Elements Qi and Lightning qi.
As if it had been slumbering and opened its eyes, it boiled up from the bottom of his Dantian and gushed forth.
As the unknown energy joined the Quasi-Unification, its form became distinct.
Fractures emerged from the hairline crack, spreading out in all directions.
And before long, the Barrier crumbled down.
Like a bursting dam, spiritual energy poured into the widened Dantian.
His Dantian expanded, becoming twice as wide as before.
His Divine Sense also grew rapidly, extending up to 27 zhang.
“I did it…”
He finally succeeded in his breakthrough, reaching the Qi Condensation Stage, 7th Level.
But before he even had time to enjoy his relief, a nose-piercing stench filled the Training Room.
When he opened his eyes, his entire body was covered in impurities.
[Again?]
Impurities had flowed out just as they had when he broke through his realm after taking the Inscribed Dangoldan and Janghyeoldan a while ago.
He thought the impurities in his bones and muscles had been washed away once, but raising his realm caused impurities to flow out yet again.
[Just how much turbid qi is left in my body?]
He expelled turbid qi every day as usual, yet impurities flowed out every time he raised his realm without fail.
Even when he ate meals, it was healthy spirit food, so turbid qi couldn’t even accumulate.
If so, the cause was not external, but internal.
[Could it be because of my Spirit Root?]
It was highly likely to be a side effect occurring as his Spirit Root grew through the Five Elements Mutual Generation Cycle.
Above all, unlike a Single Spiritual Root Holder, a Five Elements Spirit Root Holder tended to have lower quality Spirit Roots.
Naturally, it was bound to contain a lot of turbid qi.
[But my Five Elements Spirit Root is…]
Looking back, there is something else that is important right now.
The unknown energy that had surged from deep within his Dantian right before the breakthrough.
The unknown energy surged and helped smash the Barrier.
[I have a vague guess, but…]
It could only be the Unification Latent Spirit Root, ten out of ten.
However, he couldn’t figure out why the energy had surged.
“Ugh.”
First of all, the smell was terrible, so he took out a Cleansing Talisman from his Storage Platform.
When he imbued the talisman with spiritual energy and used it, the impurities clinging to his body and the Jade Flat Platform were cleanly swept away.
After the floor was swept once as well, they vanished along with the stench.
He got back into position on the cleaned Jade Flat Platform.
“Huu…”
Soon, Baek-Cheong steadied his breathing and closed his eyes.