Chapter 303 : The Grasslands (3)
Chapter 303: The Grasslands (3)
The next morning, after obtaining several pieces of precious information, doing a bit of preaching, and resting to their fullest, Il-mok and his party prepared to leave the nomadic settlement.
"Come to think of it, you said you were heading west?"
When the chief suddenly approached with the question, Il-mok nodded, prompting the man to speak with a grave expression.
"Be careful. Rumor has it there's a very brutal and powerful tribe that's settled in the west."
"Don't worry. Maitreya watches over us, so there won't be any problems."
Il-mok answered the chief's warning and left the settlement.
'Thugs really are the same no matter where you go.'
Whether it was the criminal syndicates in the Central Plains or the zealots they fought in the Western Regions, the grasslands apparently had their own share of violent brutes.
Reminded once again that might makes right in this world, they spent a long time journeying through the shifting landscapes of desert and pasture.
As the sun began to set, they made camp for the night.
"Hmm."
With a soft hum, Il-mok stretched out his stiff limbs and drew his Ascension Sword.
After spending the entire day riding in a carriage, he figured a light sword routine was exactly what he needed to work out the stiffness in his body.
No longer bound by the rigid strictures of standard martial arts, Il-mok conjured an imaginary opponent in his mind and moved his body as if performing a sword dance.
Swish!
The wind screamed in rhythm with the flow of his swinging sword. Soon, Il-mok raised his sword toward the sky, and countless strands of Sword Force formed along the blade before spreading outward in every direction.
'He says that when intent moves, energy follows, and through intent one can commune with the world.'
Having achieved Transcendence and entered the Realm of Truth, Il-mok could now vaguely grasp what the Heavenly Demon had meant by those words.
Normally, the only thing a person could command with their intent was their own body.
But martial artists who trained relentlessly gained the ability to manipulate energy, and those who reached even loftier heights could project that energy beyond their bodies to form Sword Force or Fist Aura to strike distant enemies.
Yet these methods had clear limitations.
Energy could only be channeled where it touched the body, and once projected outward, it could no longer be controlled.
But now, things were different.
Vriiing.
Dozens of Sword Force strands that had spread in every direction from Il-mok's Ascension Sword swayed and danced through the air in perfect harmony.
He could feel every single strand radiating around him as if it were tied to his own fingers.
'It feels like I've grown entirely new meridians that connect straight to the world.'
He intuitively sensed that he was now capable of a more complex feat than this.
Il-mok retracted the Sword Force and flung the Ascension Sword into the air. Before the sword could hit the ground at the end of its arc—
Whoosh!
Il-mok thrust his right palm forward and unleashed his energy. The demonic energy flowing from his hand wrapped around the Ascension Sword as it fell through the air.
The moment he visualized pulling the demonic energy back, the sword snapped right into his grasp, as if an invisible hand had yanked it straight to him.
It’s Telekinesis (虛空攝物).
'Hmm. If I can do this... I wonder if that works too?'
Burning with curiosity, Il-mok coated the sword in demonic energy again. Using the energy as an extension of his own hand, he levitated the sword into the air.
The Ascension Sword floated in the air while being enveloped in a pale grayish aura.
Il-mok focused his mind and directed the energy.
Following his will, the floating sword began to perform a sword dance, but it didn't take long for the sword to lose its force and clatter to the ground.
"Ngh."
Il-mok felt like his brain was being fried.
'Too soon for that, I guess.'
Basic parlor tricks like pushing or pulling things through the air were a breeze, but executing lightning-fast, aggressive strikes as if he were physically the sword with his body were still impossible.
Still, the attempt had taught him something.
The Realm of Truth was not the end, but rather a new beginning.
'Sword Telekinesis (以氣馭劍術) must be one of the paths that opens up after reaching the Realm of Truth.'
He could now commune with the world, but how freely he could do so was an entirely separate matter.
Once the headache from his failed attempt subsided, Il-mok launched himself into the air to test another idea that had come to mind.
Borrowing the power of energy and body to defy gravity, he shot upward and soared.
Just as his body inevitably began to fall, he expelled demonic energy from his body again and formed a solid platform of energy beneath his feet.
Pat!
Using it as a springboard, he launched himself higher into the sky.
Sky Walking (虛空踏步).
Il-mok succeeded and repeated the aerial leap several times.
The moment a dull ache began creeping back into his skull, he gracefully touched down and let out a soft breath.
"Phew."
'This needs more practice,' he thought, but a faint smile had already formed on his lips.
How to put it.
He honestly felt like a little kid who had just unearthed a brand-new toy.
It genuinely felt like anything he could come up with in his imagination was now possible, as long as he channeled his energy right.
When Il-mok finished his light warm-up and turned around, his companions were staring at him with expressions of awe.
Well, all except for one.
"It's getting late. We should probably turn in for the night."
After saying that to the group who still had their eyes glued to him, Il-mok stealthily slipped a sound transmission over to Jeong Hyeon.
—Is something troubling you?
When he'd turned around after training, she alone had worn a dark expression, unlike the others.
Jeong Hyeon flinched at the unexpected transmission and answered while stammering.
—I-it's nothing, Y-Young Master.
Something about her demeanor nagged at him, so Il-mok pressed the issue.
—Is someone giving you a hard time?
Given her usual personality and disposition, it seemed like a reasonable suspicion. He wasn't condoning bullying, but she had a temperament that made her an easy target if she crossed the wrong person.
—Th-the one giving me a hard time is you, Young Master...
Realizing she had just blurted out her true feelings by mistake, Jeong Hyeon clapped a hand over her mouth in alarm and rambled.
—I-it's nothing.
—...You've been struggling because I've been hard on you?
Il-mok asked with a genuinely confused expression. Had he been bullying her without realizing it this whole time?
Sensing that this misunderstanding was about to snowball completely out of control, Jeong Hyeon gave up and laid her feelings bare.
—I just... I wasn't entirely sure if I deserved to be your maid, Young Master.
—Wait, is this because I was bullying you?
—Th-that's absolutely not it! It's because I'm incompetent.
Il-mok looked at her with an expression that said he really didn't understand what she was saying.
—S-Senior Hayeon handles everything when it comes to handling all your daily needs, Young Master. As for acting as your guard... w-well, whether I'm here or not doesn't really change a-anything. So, I don't know if there's any r-real reason for me to stay.
Now Il-mok understood why her expression had been so grim.
Watching him practice his martial arts earlier had clearly triggered a massive wave of inferiority.
She was technically here to act as both his maid and his bodyguard, but she was likely questioning whether her current skill level even qualified her to guard someone like him.
—You've been a great help, Miss Jeong. That was true in Gansu Province, and it's true now.
—...If you're t-talking about spreading the faith or those light sparring sessions, w-wouldn't anyone else be able to do that? I-I don't have to be your maid for that...
Jeong Hyeon had started digging herself into a pit all on her own.
—M-my martial arts don't seem to be of any use to you, Young Master. I sh-shouldn't have learned archery as a martial artist of the Divine Cult after all.
Il-mok considered what to say to console her, then suddenly recalled something he'd realized during his training just moments ago.
—Miss Jeong, if I remember correctly, didn't you mention that the higher your mastery of the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow gets, the more your senses expand and sharpen?
—Y-yes, that's true. T-that's actually why I became terrified of p-people getting too close to me.
Why was he bringing up her side effects?
Just as Jeong Hyeon was about to burrow even deeper, convinced he was disappointed in her, an unexpected reason arrived.
—The Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow is an incredible martial art. It's so profound that if you can just achieve Transcendence, it could easily launch you straight into the Realm of Truth.
Seeing her blink in utter confusion, Il-mok elaborated through another transmission.
—Words probably won't do it justice, but after I stepped into the Realm of Truth and experienced Overhaul Body Transformation, my senses entered an entirely different dimension. The only reason I could pull off Telekinesis and Sky Walking earlier was because of that sensory expansion. I could feel the empty space far away from my body with perfect clarity, almost as if I were running my own hands over it.
"Ah..."
Jeong Hyeon let out an involuntary gasp.
Feeling distant spaces as clearly as if they were within arm's reach.
That was a sensation she knew intimately.
—So my theory is that the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow was created by someone who had reached the Realm of Truth. It's a Demonic Art specifically designed to guide the practitioner toward that sensory threshold, so they could eventually enter the Realm of Truth themselves.
Most martial arts began with learning to handle energy and gradually expanded the scope of their application.
But the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow was unique in that it focused not on energy, but on the senses.
And now, Il-mok was beginning to see exactly why.
—It probably comes down to the fundamental nature of archery. A bow is a long-range weapon by design. Unless an archer reaches the Realm of Truth, or at least somewhere close to it, it would be downright impossible for them to maintain the energy imbued in their arrow all the way to a distant target.
If it were swordsmanship, it would be the equivalent of learning how to manifest a Sword Force in one day, and then being told the immediate next step was mastering Sword Telekinesis in the next hour.
A complex mix of emotions washed over Jeong Hyeon's face, making it clear that his words had resonated with her.
During her time with Il-mok, whether at the Hall of the Demonic Way or during their light sparring sessions, she had experienced several moments of enlightenment that raised her martial realm.
But each time, her senses had only grown sharper and broader. She'd never felt any dramatic increase in raw power.
That was the exact reason why her self-esteem had completely crashed down, and why those insidious Heart Demons had slowly started creeping into her mind.
She'd believed she had hit an eternal wall because she had chosen to practice the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow.
But after listening to Il-mok, a small ember of hope flickered to life.
A quiet "what if."
—It's highly possible that the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow is simply a late-blooming Demonic Art. I know it must be incredibly frustrating right now, but once those senses are pushed to their absolute limits, stepping into the Realm of Truth won't just be a dream.
—D-does the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow really have that kind of p-potential?"
Instead of a direct answer, Il-mok threw a seemingly random question back at her.
—Have you ever heard of the ultimate art of the Kunlun Sect, which our Divine Cult destroyed?
—...If we're talking about the Kunlun Sect's ultimate technique, d-do you mean the Cloud Dragon Eight Movements?
—...The Kunlun Sect's ultimate art? Y-you mean the Cloud Dragon Eight Movements?
—That's the one. Legend has it that masters of the Cloud Dragon Eight Movements could perform Sky Walking. It makes me wonder if that art was also specifically designed to guide its practitioners toward the Realm of Truth, much like the Ghostly Spirit Divine Bow that you've learned, Miss Jeong.
Even a century after the Kunlun Sect's annihilation, the Cloud Dragon Eight Movements was still universally revered as one of the absolute greatest lightness skills in the Central Plains.
Hearing Il-mok compare her own art to that legendary art put Jeong Hyeon strangely at ease.
All the more so because these words came from none other than Il-mok, the Greatest Prodigy of the Demonic Way.
—Besides, the reason I can sleep soundly is thanks to you, Miss Jeong. With your extraordinary senses, I don't need to worry about ambushes. Hahaha.
—...Thank you, Young Master.
Flushed with embarrassment at his final piece of praise, Jeong Hyeon ducked her head and finally settled down to sleep.
Once her Heart Demons had quieted down for the night, Il-mok rolled onto his back and gazed at the sky.
The night sky stretching over the vast plains was completely cloudless, a brilliant canvas scattered with countless stars.
'Even if developing her senses is the key to entering the Realm of Truth, achieving Transcendence will still take a lot of time. The problem is what happens until then.'
It wasn't her martial skill that worried him. He was simply concerned she'd spiral again and dig herself into another pit of depression and self-loathing.
After mulling over Jeong Hyeon’s situation for a moment, Il-mok soon hit upon a pretty useful stopgap measure.
'I'll have to put it on hold until we get back to Lanzhou or the main headquarters, though. It's not exactly an item I can just magically conjure up out here.'
* * *
Bright and early the next morning, Il-mok and his party resumed their journey.
After several days of meeting new tribes and repeating the cycle of proselytizing and intelligence gathering, they arrived at their destination.
"I believe it's right around that stream over there."
They finally reached the coordinates marked on their rough map.
But no one was there.
"It appears they've already packed up and migrated elsewhere, Young Master."
Hearing Jin Hayeon's assessment, Il-mok gave a disappointed nod.
Nomads relocated on a regular cycle. As she said, the timing simply hadn't aligned.
Il-mok was about to suggest they return to their original route and head west when Jeong Hyeon stammered from behind them.
"Y-Young Master."
He turned at her call and found her pointing toward the pastureland.
"Th-there are fresh tracks left behind. It d-doesn't look like they've been gone for very long."