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Chapter 66. The Cold Glint of a Well-Polished Sword (13)

“How does it compare to the cultivation method you learned originally, Ma-Ra?”

“Not good for killing. But, foundation good. Easy to adapt. Good to learn with Flowing Shadow Killing Art.”

The Flowing Shadow Killing Art was probably the name of the qi cultivation method that Ma-Ra had learned at the Formless Veil.

“Right? It’ll probably be helpful for you, too. It’s stable and adaptable. So it won’t clash with any other techniques. You learn this, too.”

“Okay.”

Ma-Ra sat down on the spot and recited the mantra, circulating her qi according to the method that Woo-Moon had just explained.

“By the way, do you mind gracing us with the name of this qi cultivation method?” Rat asked, finding a lull in the conversation. Dok-Du had most likely prodded him to step forward.

“A name? Hm...”

Woo-Moon realized that he had contemplated the cultivation method for so long that he hadn’t been able to name it yet.

‘Dang it, whatever.’

Not bothered enough to contemplate a unique name for it, Woo-Moon just mixed the names of the two qi cultivation methods he had based it on.

“The Three Aspects and Six Harmonies Art.”

Although the children who didn’t know what the concept of cool actually meant thought that it was an incredible name, Jae-Hwa and the Dok-Ryeok-Gwi trio frowned at Woo-Moon’s lack of fucks to give. Anyone with a bit of education could see that all he had done was combine the names of the Cultivation of the Three Aspects and the Six Harmonies Art, right?

The Cultivation of the Three Aspects was a low-level qi cultivation method that could be found for less than a tael, even within rural bookstores. The same went for the Six Harmonies Art.

However, times like this were where Rat’s excellent social skills truly shone.

“What an incredible name! The Three Aspects and Six Harmonies Art, I see! As expected of such an incredible art!”

“Right? Hehehe. As expected, you’re my favorite, Rat.”

“Hehe...”

Dok-Du and Ryeok-Gwi glared at the sight of Rat’s bright smile, only for their glares to be ignored. Regardless of how they had found themselves in this position, if they wanted to live comfortably, they had to impress Woo-Moon, who was not only their boss but an actually influential character.

“Ah, speaking of that, what do you think you’re doing?! Aren’t you going to cultivate your qi?”

“Ah, yes sir, sorry sir!”

Everyone hurriedly sat cross-legged.

“You have to circulate your qi intentionally at first and pay a lot of attention, but once you get used to it, you’ll be able to cultivate even while you’re walking, eating, or sleeping. It’s not going to be as fast as when you sit down and focus, but even the meat on the neck of a chicken is still meat. If you keep accumulating all day, every day, eventually you’ll reach a high level.”

The qi cultivation method that Woo-Moon had created wasn’t just mashing together the original Cultivation of the Three Aspects and the Six Harmonies Art. Although these two basic qi cultivation methods accounted for most of it, it also contained things that Woo-Moon had glimpsed as he experienced the enlightenment of the Forbidden Divine Art, as well as things he had realized while studying his grandfather’s book, the Martial Arts Fundamentals that Woo-Moon.

Naturally, it wasn’t as good as the Forbidden Divine Art, but even so, the Three Aspects and Six Harmonies Art was a cultivation method that could easily rank at the top of gangho

Woo-Moon waited patiently and watched as the guards learned the Three Aspects and Six Harmonies Art, occasionally noticing that someone had a problem and guiding their qi correctly.

Finally, after two hours had passed, everyone, including Ma-Ra, had completed their first circulation of qi following the mantra of the Three Aspects and Six Harmonies Art.

“Good, it should be fine if I let you do your own thing now. Remember, don’t forget to circulate your qi according to this method all the time, everywhere. I mean even when you’re sleeping or using the toilet.”

“Understood!”

It was already deep into the night. Yawning, Woo-Moon headed toward his room. “Ma-Ra, let’s go to sleep now. You should go to your room and sleep, too.”

However, there wasn’t any answer from Ma-Ra.

Without paying much attention to it, Woo-Moon went to his room, took off his clothes, and lay down when, suddenly, someone came in.

“Ma-Ra?” he said. He was instantly flustered, as he was almost naked, and it was late at night. This was definitely not the time for a grown man and a woman to be in the same room.

What was even more surprising was that Ma-Ra proceeded to disrobe and climb into his bed. The next moment, he felt something soft touch his skin.

“Aaah!!! What are you doing, Ma-Ra?! Hurry up and go to your own room!”

However, Ma-Ra’s voice and face were still expressionless.

“Sick. Must cure.”

It was only then that Woo-Moon remembered what he had said to Ma-Ra earlier—that in order to cure her illness, she always had to be by his side.

“I mean, yes, I know I told you we had to travel together, but we should still stay apart when we sleep. You can’t be like this right now.”

“Sick. Must cure.”

An assassin must always keep their body in the best condition—this was the first thing Ma-Ra had been taught and one she was told over and over again as the rule more important than anything else. With this rule now ingrained in her very bones, all she knew was that in order to be “cured,” she had to stay with Woo-Moon at all times.

Rather than focusing on Woo-Moon’s instructions to sleep separately, she prioritized her father’s words and the word “always” that Woo-Moon had said earlier. Thus, no matter how much he complained, Ma-Ra insisted stubbornly, leaving Woo-Moon no choice but to take a step back.

“Fine. You don’t have to go to your room. Instead, I’ll sleep on the floor, so you sleep on the bed. Okay?”

“No. I sleep on the floor,” she said before lying down directly on the floor next to his bed.

Woo-Moon scratched his head and gave up. He took out an extra mattress and blanket from storage and laid them out on the floor.

“Alright then, let’s sleep.”

As Ma-Ra lay down with her eyes closed, Woo-Moon soon heard the sound of her even breathing. Moreover, even though she wasn’t wearing a fragrance sachet,[1] the scent of her body wafted up to Woo-Moon’s nose.

Woo-Moon couldn\'t relax and kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep for over an hour.

‘...I’m going crazy.’

On the other hand, Ma-Ra seemed to be sleeping soundly, without any issues.

Woo-Moon eventually stood carefully so as not to wake Ma-Ra, picked up his sword, and left the room.

“The moon is so bright.”

His body and mind, which had been restless and filled with vigor, seemed to relax and settle down as he breathed in the cold night air.

‘So in the end, I’m a man just like any other man, huh.’

With a bitter smile, Woo-Moon entered the darkness of the night, flying forward like a wild bird toward the clearing in the forest that he often frequented. He drew his sword out of its scabbard, and the steel shimmered with quiet elegance as it was bathed in the soft moonlight.

Woo-Moon found that his sword was mesmerizingly beautiful when he saw it in the brightness of day, and now, he noticed that the light of the full moon also made it look spectacular in its own way. They each had its own different charm.

Woo-Moon stretched out his index and middle fingers to form a finger sword and swept them across the blade illuminated by the moonlight.

“Ha!”

Woo-Moon’s arm left behind an afterimage as he slashed down with his sword.

Shiiing!

A leaf that was gently drifting to the ground was cut in two perfect halves.

With a pleased smile on his face, Woo-Moon turned his sword and stepped backward, moving in a circle as he began practicing his swordsmanship, cutting and thrusting, visualizing enemies coming at him from all eight directions.

The blade reflected tens, hundreds of small floating lights as fireflies, attracted by its glow, came from all directions and flew around him. And even though Woo-Moon’s sword dance was accompanied by fierce winds, the fireflies merely swayed in the wind, not a single one touched by the blade.

A single point, a single step, a single moment!

As he fell into a trance, Woo-Moon’s sword strikes gradually increased in force, speed, and unpredictability. It moved faster and faster every second, until its speed and power reached the climax!

His sword glowed with a golden light and created a sword river, merging into a single technique. A technique faster and wilder than Heavy Rain, a technique broader and mightier than Raging Wind.

Rumble!!!

What an incredible force!

“Ah...!!”

It was the first technique that he had performed after waking from his dream—Raging Storm!

The moment he reproduced it, Woo-Moon woke up from his trance and let out a happy exclamation.

“I did it, I finally did it!” Woo-Moon clenched his fists, a cheerful expression lighting his face.

This time, unlike before, Raging Storm didn’t return to the fog in his mind like it had done before. He could remember it clearly, over and over again, and he now clearly understood how everything worked and how he was supposed to use it.

‘I can use it again! But...’

He hadn’t realized it as he had been so absorbed in the joy of finally relearning Raging Storm, but he could feel extreme exhaustion spreading throughout his entire body.

Before he noticed it, Woo-Moon had already used up nearly half of his qi reserves. Moreover, as it turned out, using Raging Storm was also physically difficult for him in spite of his well-trained body, as if he had run an all-out sprint for a long time without using any qi.

“This technique uses up both my qi and my stamina, and pretty badly at that. If I want to use it in an actual fight, I’ll need to think carefully and use it with caution. I can’t keep using it casually, it has to be the killing blow.”

Regardless of the restrictions on its use, Woo-Moon felt like he could fly when he thought that he had finally relearned Raging Storm. He couldn\'t help but laugh out loud.

"Haha, hahaha, hahahahahahahaha!"

Woo-Moon had been up all night, unable to sleep due to Ma-Ra’s sudden visit. However, that had actually turned out to be a good thing.

***

‘Ugh. My stomach...’

The next afternoon, while he was with Ma-Ra, Woo-Moon found himself in a difficult position. He had to go relieve himself, but Ma-Ra stood in his way.

‘Well, I can’t help it.’

“Ma-Ra, what’s that over there? Go see what it is for a moment for me.”

“Okay.”

After distracting Ma-Ra like that, Woo-Moon used his movement technique to its full potential and rushed toward the outhouse.

“Whew.”

However, the moment he untied his pants and dropped them to the ground, he suddenly heard a cracking sound in front of him.

“Surprised. Why disappear?”

Ma-Ra appeared right in front of him, having torn off the door to the outhouse.

Although she had said she was surprised, her face remained expressionless.

Moreover, even though Woo-Moon himself was shocked to the point of screaming, Ma-Ra was perfectly indifferent to the sight of Woo-Moon with his pants down. At the very least, the good news was that he hadn’t dropped his underwear.

“Isn’t this a little too much?”

In response to Woo-moon’s perplexed words, Ma-Ra calmly asked back, "What?"

“For now, let’s continue talking with the door closed. It’s okay for there to be a door between us, right? I won’t run this time.”

“Okay.”

As Ma-Ra returned the completely torn-off door to its hinges, Woo-Moon let out a deep sigh.

“Whew... Just what sin did I commit in my past life?”

***

Five days later, Woo-Moon went to see Si-Hyeon at the manor that she had bought.

“Ah, senior brother!” Si-Hyeon greeted him warmly.

But when she saw Ma-Ra coming in one step behind him, her expression hardened.

“Junior sister, it’s been two days. How have you been doing?”

When Woo-Moon greeted her, Si-Hyeon smiled so quickly that it seemed as though her cold expression had never been there.

“I’ve been doing well. Have you been well, senior brother?”

“Yeah. But by the way, this place is pretty nice! Is this going to be the Leebi Guild’s headquarters?”

“Yes, I will definitely raise the Leebi Guild properly and make it the greatest merchant guild that ever existed on the continent! Of course, you should also be excited too, senior brother! After all, you have a pretty big share in the guild!”

Si-Hyeon’s eyes shone brightly as she spoke. Thinking it was nice to see her enthusiasm, Woo-Moon smiled.

“By the way, senior brother. You seem quite close to that young maiden there, don’t you?” Si-Hyeon continued, this time with a slight venom in her voice.

However, Woo-Moon was entirely oblivious to the change in atmosphere.

“Huh? Oh, about that...” Woo-Moon explained what had happened, adding that his parents had ordered him to keep Ma-Ra around him in order to help her get used to people.

“Ah, is that so...?”

“Yes.”

Woo-Moon wandered and looked around the manor that would become the Leebi Merchant Guild in the future. It was much smaller than the Baek Family Estate, but that was only because of the sheer size and status of an Ancient Family. For an up-and-coming guild like Si-Hyeon’s, it was more than impressive.

“So, things are going well, then?”

“Well, right now, we are approaching the nearby stores and merchants and encouraging them to join our guild or partner with us. In addition, we’ve started hiring people by putting up hiring notices, and we are trying to meet and build relationships with influential figures in both the government and the business sectors. Oh, that’s right! Didn’t you say something last time?”

“Say what?”

1. Traditionally, women wore sachets of medicine/fragrance/incense instead of putting on perfume. ☜