Return of the Heavenly Sword

Chapter 18. Young Master Ghost Sword (4)

As I swung my sword along the trajectory visible in the air, I was able to cut down several of the swiftly flying Tiger Head Inch Hornets.

Immediately after, a small opening was created. I sent internal energy into my left arm, which was beginning to swell up bumpily, and launched my body upwards as if bouncing.

At the same time, I raised my head and looked up, and a beautiful trajectory of soaring effortlessly to the top of the cliff came into view.

The movement of the trajectory was profound.

Sometimes it would run up the cliff as if it were flat ground, and when it seemed like it was about to slip and fall, it would end with Controlling Qi to Soar to shoot into the air, then do a somersault to rotate its body, land on a tree branch, and at the same time, bounce off again to soar up.

There were more than one or two movements that made me question if they were even humanly possible.

Yesterday, I wouldn't have even dared to imitate it, but now, I could at least try, albeit shabbily.

While running up the cliff along the trajectory and launching my body into a somersault.

“Hmm?”

I felt that something was strange.

No matter what I did, I couldn't move as strangely as shown in the trajectory.

After finishing the somersault, I was supposed to land on the tree branch to the side, but my leg couldn't reach it.

In the end, I passed the branch and fell towards the ground. From a height where I would die instantly if I fell like this.

But I wasn't afraid.

I quickly reached out my hand towards the nearest protruding rock.

Grab.

As the rock was torn out, unable to bear my rapidly falling weight, I quickly twisted my body and caught the cliff with my other hand, pressing my body close to hold on.

Bzzzzzzzzing.

As the Tiger Head Inch Hornets flew in again while I was falling, new trajectories appeared in my eyes.

In addition to the trajectory to kill the Tiger Head Inch Hornets, there was also a trajectory to get back up the cliff from here.

For a moment, I once again followed the trajectory, swinging my sword and performing movement arts to climb.

Again, I failed to follow the trajectory and fell, but I managed to grab a tree branch and hold on.

I was in crisis one after another, but this time, I was able to gain a great deal.

“So that’s what it was.”

The technique called lightness technique, or movement arts, as the name suggests, is a method of increasing speed by making the body light.

That's what I had thought until now.

Therefore, I had always believed that the best way was to make my body as light as possible with internal energy and move my limbs with all my might.

But that was a misunderstanding.

I realized it while imitating the trajectory visible in the air.

The core of movement arts was where to make the body light, and at what moment to make it light.

In other words, the shift of the center of gravity was the key.

Through this, one could twist their body's posture with unnatural speed, and even twist their body freely in the air.

It was the same when running fast on flat ground.

Just being light didn't mean you were fast.

It was a natural principle if you thought about the sight of feathers or leaves falling. They are light, but both feathers and leaves flutter and fall slowly.

At the moment of pushing off the ground to apply force, the body had to be light to be fast, but after that, one had to naturally change the center of gravity.

As if a blocked vessel had been cleared, countless movement arts I had personally trained in or seen and experienced over the past thirty-eight years flashed through my mind.

Even as the hornets that had caught up with me stung my body, laughter burst out on its own due to the joy of enlightenment.

“Uahahaha!”

Laughing heartily, I once again launched my body, chasing the trajectory.

Unfortunately, I couldn't follow the trajectory perfectly in one go.

If I could perform it perfectly just by gaining enlightenment once, the me of my previous life wouldn't have remained at just that level.

But, a mediocre talent has his own way.

“If it doesn’t work, do it until it does!”

Besides, with the answer visible right in front of me, there was nothing I couldn't do.

I was able to realize another important fact.

There was no need to do foolish things to try and obtain the highest level of movement arts.

I just had to learn the highest level of movement arts through these eyes.

Once again, I follow the trajectory and perform movement arts to climb the cliff.

I climb a few Zhang like that, but eventually fail to follow the trajectory and fall.

Somehow, I grab onto something to stop, and then repeat the process of chasing the trajectory.

In the process, I ended up swinging my sword at the pursuing hornets, and I was inevitably stung.

After repeating that painful process several times.

Tap.

Finally, my two legs touched the ground.

After succeeding in climbing the cliff, a strange sense of emptiness came over me.

It was the regret that the cliff had already ended before I could completely follow the trajectory.

Soon after, a bzzzzzzzzing sound pierced my ears.

It was the sound of the damn hornets who had finally followed me to the top of the cliff.

“Tsk.”

It might be a different story if I were fighting while hanging on the cliff.

Swish.

On solid ground, Tiger Head Inch Hornets were no match for me.

Even more so now that my eyes were open.

Swish.

For a moment, I swung my sword as if performing a sword dance along the trajectories embroidered in the air.

Swish.

Before I knew it, about twenty hornets were scattered on the ground.

When no more hornets attacked, I approached the hornet corpses scattered on the ground.

Then I pulled out the stingers and put them in the pouch where I kept my medicinal herbs.

It hurt like hell, but as long as you weren't stung multiple times or in a vital spot, it wasn't instantly fatal.

It was the perfect stinger for building resistance to poison.

Therefore, it was necessary to collect them in advance.

My next target was a guy who used poison anyway.

That was one of the reasons I had gathered medicinal herbs.

“Today… I’ve been stung enough, so I should let it go.”

Starting with my left forearm, my whole body was throbbing like crazy.

To the point where I thought if I had been stung two or three more times, I might have crossed the Yellow Springs.

It was truly good news.

The body is forged stronger the more it is pushed.

Since I was stung to the brink of death today, it was possible that I had developed a little poison resistance.

This was not the only advantage.

My whole body was throbbing, and my heart was still pounding like crazy. Thanks to that, various trajectories were still drawn all around.

“When you feel regretful, you just have to train more.”

I immediately operated my internal energy and started running, performing movement arts.

“Die, Bandit Number One Thousand One Hundred Twenty-Four!”

Movement arts and swordsmanship training were meant to be done in parallel to shine.

***

Somewhere on Wondrous Ridge Mountain. About a dozen people were passing through.

About half of them were moving with large bundles on their backs, while the other half were moving with a rather comfortable gait.

Those moving with bundles were porters belonging to a small merchant group, and those moving leisurely were the escorts and head escort of an escort agency hired by the merchant group.

At that moment, the merchant leader frowned and spoke to the escorts.

“Hey, you lot. If you’re going to move so leisurely, at least help carry some of the luggage.”

At the merchant leader's words, the head escort laughed heartily and replied.

“Hahaha. In case some bandits pop out, that might be a little difficult.”

The merchant leader sighed at that reply.

“Haa. We both know there are no bandits on Wondrous Ridge Mountain. Since there are no bandits anyway, just give us a hand.”

“You never know. Who knows if bandits have set up camp on Wondrous Ridge Mountain in the last few days. Hahaha.”

The merchant leader swallowed a curse inwardly.

‘If you’re so worried about bandits, you should at least stand guard properly. Such a ridiculous excuse.’

He was saying such things while walking with a leisurely attitude as if he were out for a stroll, making a sigh almost escape on its own.

At that moment, the slacking head escort suddenly put on a serious expression, raised his hand, and shouted.

“Halt!”

Simultaneously, the escorts who had been walking like idlers drew their weapons and began to guard their surroundings.

At their sudden change in attitude, the merchant leader thought.

‘Crazy bastards.’

He wondered if they were just putting on a show, pretending something was there.

But what do you know.

Before long, the bushes in front of them shook, and six rough-looking men popped out.

The merchant leader looked at the head escort with a surprised expression.

‘They said they’ve never been robbed by bandits, not even once. I see their skills are indeed the real deal.’

The reason the merchant leader had hired them was precisely because of that rumor.

The escort fee was expensive because of the rumor that they were highly skilled, but it was still cheaper than being robbed by bandits.

While the merchant leader was admiring the head escort.

The head escort pointed his sword at the men who had suddenly appeared and asked in a leisurely tone.

“Who are you?”

The merchant leader thought.

Until just now, he had seemed like a slacker, but now he wondered if it wasn't the composure of a master.

At that moment, a man with his arms crossed replied.

“This mountain is under the management of our Great Tiger Fortress. If you want to pass through alive, hand over half of what you have.”

At the Great Tiger Fortress leader’s threat, the head escort slowly turned his head and scanned the bandits.

“Hoo. Six of you. The number is just right.”

At the head escort’s confident words, the escorts responded with laughter.

“Looks like they underestimated us.”

“Hahaha. They’re rookie bandits, so it seems they don’t even know who we are.”

It was confidence with a reason.

They already had experience fighting and defeating bandits multiple times. They even had experience wiping out not just a small mountain fortress like this, but one with over twenty men.

Thanks to that, a rumor had spread widely in the vicinity that if you entrusted a job to the Soyang Escort Agency, you would never lose money to bandits.

The Great Tiger Fortress leader, who had been quietly observing the escorts laughing with his arms crossed, snorted once and said.

“You refuse the offered toast and choose the penalty drink. Attack!”

As soon as the Great Tiger Fortress leader’s order fell, the five bandits holding spears moved.

“Hmm?”

The head escort felt a strange sensation.

It wasn't because of the spears. Contrary to popular belief, most bandits preferred spears over axes.

It was a weapon that could be easily made even with bamboo, and the spear was the easiest weapon for a beginner to learn.

Well, those bandits were holding spears made of iron, not bamboo spears, so it was a slightly unusual case.

The reason the head escort felt a sense of unease was because of something else.

‘They’re quite disciplined for bandits.’

Instead of rushing in like a disorderly mob, the mere five of them were charging while maintaining a formation.

But the doubt was brief.

“Haat!”

The Great Tiger Fortress leader, who had already closed the distance using movement arts, was swinging his saber at the head escort.

Clang!!

A vein popped on the forehead of the head escort, who had narrowly blocked the surprise attack.

An unexpectedly large force was transmitted through the clashing swords.

“Eek! How dare a mere bandit!”

The Great Tiger Fortress leader lightly snorted once and continued to swing his saber.

Clang!

Clang!

The head escort barely managed to block the successive attacks, but he couldn't even dare to attempt a counterattack.

‘Damn it, if only I hadn't been ambushed.’

While he was thinking that, a scream filled with pain came from the side.

“Kuaaaak!”

The head escort couldn't understand.

The voice that had screamed was all too familiar.

Clang!!

Right after clashing swords with the Great Tiger Fortress leader, the head escort, feeling uneasy, took a step back and shifted his gaze to the side.

One of the escorts, the one with a particularly lighthearted way of speaking, had blood streaming down his forearm.

It was obvious at a glance. It was a wound from being pierced by a spear.

Perhaps because one person’s arm was unusable, the rest of the escorts were also completely on the defensive.

‘How can this be.’

The head escort could not understand this situation.

“Where are you looking!”

With a shout, the Great Tiger Fortress leader’s saber flew in.

Clang!

He barely managed to block it, but blood surged up from his stomach.

It was an internal injury suffered as the price for looking away.

At that moment, another familiar scream came from the side.

It was a scream from one of those who were protecting the injured escort, as his thigh was pierced.

“Damn it!!”

The head escort let out a furious roar.

He wanted to help his subordinates, but the bandit leader’s skills surpassed his own.

Once again, the fierce saber swung by the Great Tiger Fortress leader flew in.

Clang!!

The head escort, who blocked it by swinging his sword, took a step back and suddenly vomited blood.

“Keol-leok.”

The faces of the merchants and porters turned pale at the sight of the escorts and the head escort being pushed back one-sidedly.

‘Oh, gods and spirits. Oh, Buddha. Why do you give me such a trial.’

While the merchant leader was thinking of beings he didn't even usually believe in.

The Great Tiger Fortress leader, who was approaching to finish off the blood-vomiting head escort, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Halt!”

As soon as his shout ended, his subordinate bandits retreated in a disciplined manner.

A clear chain of command, unbecoming of bandits.

The bandits, who had retreated according to their leader's command, finally looked at their leader with puzzled expressions.

“It seems another guest is coming.”

The leader gestured with his chin towards the bushes on the side.

The bandits’ heads whipped around in that direction, and the gazes of the merchants and porters also turned that way.

Before long, a human presence was felt beyond the bushes.

The sound of something being cut.

Swish.

And the voice of a young boy.

“Die, Bandit Number One Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Seven!”

At that strange voice, one of the bandits tilted his head.

“Bandit Number One Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Seven?”

Soon after, a boy appeared, cutting through the bushes.

The boy’s whole body was covered in grime, and his hair was disheveled and matted.

Moreover, as if he had been poisoned by something, his body was swollen red in places visible through his worn-out clothes.

While everyone was looking at the boy, the boy suddenly launched himself forward, rolled on the ground twice, and then sprang up.

“To think you had a trick like this hidden. I guess a leader is a leader.”

Right after the boy, who was still muttering while staring into empty space, finished his words.

“……”

A strange silence descended on the area.

At that moment, the eyes of the boy who was spouting nonsense and the bandits met.

“???”

The boy, with a confused expression, whipped his head around, blinked his eyes several times, and then looked at the bandits again.

Immediately after, a grin spread across the lips of the boy who had realized something.

“You bastards. So you were real.”

It was a smile overflowing with demonic energy.