Chapter 67: Completing All Preparations (2)

A few days later, thanks to the help of others, my sect had become so fortified that it could truly be called a fortress.

'Formations to make one lose their way, defensive walls and various traps to prevent surprise attacks... and even means to cause an avalanche if things go wrong, everything has been prepared.'

Especially Jegal Hong from the Jegal Family, famous for their formations and tactics, showed great excitement as she complemented the weak points in the methods I had prepared.

"Master, could it be that you like such a frail girl?"

Bi Wol, who seemed displeased by this sight, approached me in the middle of her training to express her jealousy.

"It's just a cooperative relationship."

Moreover, we're just friends. If she clearly liked me like Bi Wol and the other disciples, she would have shown more affectionate behavior.

"Please don't lie. Women have intuition."

Despite my explanation, Bi Wol linked her arm with mine tightly, as if she wouldn't let go.

Even in this urgent situation where we didn't know when Shub-Niggurath would invade, she maintained her consistent behavior.

"So, how is your training going?"

In the end, I chose to change the subject. Even arguing about such a simple matter was a waste.

"...To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm doing well."

Bi Wol sighed deeply as she looked at the martial arts arena. It was a place where she, as well as Verdandi, Azazel, and other disciples, were training while sparring with each other.

"No matter how much I train, I keep thinking I can't advance to a higher realm."

Bi Wol's hands trembled slightly as she said this. It seemed she wanted to reach the state of flower viewing first to save me.

"You don't have to force yourself to reach the state of flower viewing. Your well-being is more important to me than anything else, Bi Wol."

I spoke while slowly patting Bi Wol's head. From the beginning, living a life with a time limit, I had never thought about loving someone or wanting to share affection.

I had felt too deeply in my previous life how miserable and sad it was for those left behind. I tried not to give affection as much as possible.

"...Master is always a coward. When you say such things, doesn't it make me even more determined?"

At some point, Bi Wol and the other disciples had become an important part of my life. They were traces of the life Seolhwa had left behind, and like daughters to me.

"Then, I'll watch over all of you and see what areas you're lacking in. Maybe we'll see something that way."

I gently raised the corners of my mouth towards them. I thought this might be the best sight a creator of a novel could encounter.

"...Master, just in case, would you keep the Extreme Yang Blood Pill with you?"

Pleased with my words, Bi Wol smiled and held out the box containing the elixir to me.

"Why so suddenly?"

"If we reach the state of flower viewing, I want you to choose directly who you'll do the body nourishment with."

"......"

If someone heard this, they might curse me as a madman. What master in the world would lay hands on disciples who are like his children?

"...If you don't take this now, there might be an unfortunate incident where we force you to take the elixir and share affection."

I remained silent, and seeing this, Bi Wol smiled slyly and deliberately lowered her voice to whisper in my ear.

"Do you really have to do this...?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's you who tests me almost every day, Master. Don't you show an attitude of ignoring my love by bringing in other women?"

Hearing Bi Wol's words, I hid the box containing the elixir in my sleeve. If I could just save Seolhwa, it was better to accept her proposal for now.

There might even be cases where a disciple who reached the state of flower viewing first would try to pounce on me like a starved beast.

"Then I'll gratefully accept it."

It was for the slightest possibility.

The fact that Bi Wol, who had the highest probability of this, made such a proposal meant that she was quite confident.

"I still can't quite grasp it. Why do we need the essence of the Six Harmonies Fist to fight an Outer God?"

Kim Hyul was the first to speak to me as I rushed to the martial arts arena as if escaping.

"Won't its attacks be ineffective against me anyway? In the end, wouldn't it be advantageous for me and that blonde-haired woman if it turns into a war of attrition?"

As someone who had mastered the Indestructible Diamond Body, he showed an attitude of not understanding why we were doing this kind of training.

"The frightening aspect of an Outer God isn't its brute force or size."

I shook my head as I corrected Kim Hyul's straight punch posture. Originally, it was said that fear comes from ignorance.

The terrifying aspect of Shub-Niggurath, an Outer God, is that it thinks and moves in ways that we mere humans cannot predict.

Even I'm like that. How could it possess an author into a world mixed with those things just because he discontinued serialization?

"Our opponent, Shub-Niggurath, could plant tentacles in your ears and nose and eat your brain."

I explained as simply as possible so that Kim Hyul could have a sense of crisis.

If I said that mental attacks couldn't be blocked, he might say that such things could be resolved with fighting spirit.

"That's quite chilling."

Realizing that what I was saying wasn't a lie, Kim Hyul swallowed hard and clenched his fists.

Even with an Indestructible Diamond Body, he had realized through sparring with Bi Wol that he couldn't protect his internal organs.

"The essence of the Six Harmonies Fist lies in the unity of heaven and earth and all directions. It's good to always keep three pairs of opposing forces in your mind."

"Was that what the woman in strange clothes did when she threw a straight punch towards the sky?"

Kim Hyul asked me, pointing at Azazel. The straight punch she had used at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering was impressive to anyone who saw it.

"Yes, but it'll be difficult to apply right away. Originally, enlightenment in martial arts is achieved through countless repetitions."

"I'll try my best."

Saying this, Kim Hyul once again took his stance, preparing to spar with Bi Wol.

"...You seem quite popular."

Sieghart made his presence known in this situation. He was sitting quietly on the floor, meditating.

It was a method I had recommended for him to better perceive the flow of time and space.

In the original "A Hero Must Die," he had barely realized this on the brink of death, but now, when every fighting force was precious, I couldn't make him experience near-death.

"All the gazes and footsteps directed at you are from women. At this rate, you could have established a harem instead of a training sect."

"......"

"Lady Verdandi, Lady Azazel, they're all training while glancing at you."

He seemed to have noticed everything, from my checking traps and formations here and there with Jegal Hong, to my recent conversation with Bi Wol.

Sieghart's meditation seemed to have been effective in sharpening his senses, as he was aware of all the scenes using senses keener than usual.

"It's none of your business."

Unable to hide my feeling of being caught out by Sieghart, I ended up speaking harshly.

"Hahaha! I have no right to scold you for your actions, but I could hear even the sound of your heart pounding, so I offered advice out of concern."

At this, Sieghart laughed heartily and began to talk about the results of his training. He said he felt like his other senses were awakening through meditation.

"At first, I thought I couldn't meditate so peacefully in the wind like this."

"You had no choice, with your family kidnapped."

"Well, that's true. It was such an urgent situation that every day and hour felt pressing. Who wouldn't think that way when faced with such a terrible thing?"

Sieghart trembled slightly as if recalling when he first learned of Shub-Niggurath's true form. Even with his eyes blind, that presence must have struck his body directly.

"At that time, I really thought I should die. In the face of overwhelming fear, all I felt was helplessness."

"Is that why you tested me and my disciples? Did you think there would be no chance against Shub-Niggurath if we couldn't defeat you?"

"That's right, so I pinned my hopes on you as a last lifeline."

Sieghart nodded slowly. He might have thought that if he was defeated at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, his family might lose their lives.

"...Sieghart."

"Why are you calling me?"

"...People forget as they live that time flows, and that there are spaces they can never return to later."

To comfort him, I told him about the realization he had when he made time and space his sword in the original work.

"Is that really so? I don't know about time, but can't we revisit spaces?"

"Human memories are special. If you go alone now to your hometown where you lived with your sister, could you say it's the same place?"

"......"

Sieghart could only remain silent for a moment after hearing what I said. It was as if he had realized something he had been missing all along.

"Time flows, and spaces change. But if there's one thing that doesn't change..."

I added one more thing to give Sieghart an enlightenment. As the original author of "A Hero Must Die," it was the source of Sieghart's ability that I had envisioned.

"It's the heart deeply embedded in a person's mind. Like a single sword."

After all, I hadn't given up on writing to leave traces of Seolhwa in this world.