Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 197

197. Eternal Ice Crystal

Un-hyun shivered slightly.

Even though it was supposed to be a training chamber, it felt like a ferocious beast might leap out at any moment.

If it weren’t for the faint glow of the night-shining pearls inside the cave, he would have thought just that.

‘To think there’s a cave like this so close to the Ice Palace.’

Un-hyun craned his neck to peer into the cave.

On closer inspection, there were not only night-shining pearls but also stone steps.

Though not properly hewn, they were definitely steps, leading steeply downwards.

Woo-oong.

‘Ugh.’

Un-hyun felt a chill at the sudden sound.

It was probably due to the cold wind blowing from inside the cave, but he felt like closing the stone door and turning back.

But he couldn’t.

“Hoo.”

Un-hyun took a deep breath.

If he didn’t go in here, he might never unlock the secret of the Setting Sun Sword.

Besides, what would he say to the Young Palace Lord or Dokgo-rang?

Un-hyun made up his mind.

And slowly, he took a step forward.

Whoosh.

The cold wind gently wrapped around Un-hyun.

Feeling a chill, Un-hyun stepped inside.

Sapak, sapak.

Once he took one step, the next was easier.

Un-hyun cautiously began to descend the stone steps.

How long had he been going down?

‘It’s brighter than I thought?’

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Un-hyun realized that the cave was brighter than he had expected.

The light from the night-shining pearls clearly illuminated the steep stone steps.

In fact, Un-hyun was sometimes startled by his own shadow cast on the cave walls.

The cold wind was the same.

At first, he felt a chill, but now he could barely feel it.

However, the faint white breath he saw whenever he breathed made it clear that it was still cold.

The real problem was elsewhere.

‘But where does this end?’

He had been going down for a long time, but he still couldn’t see the end of the stone steps.

Un-hyun glanced back.

The entrance he had come through was long gone.

This was because the stone steps were descending underground in a gentle curve.

Moreover, it wasn’t just in one direction, but sometimes it turned to the left or to the right.

Even when he looked down, he could only see the curve of light drawn by the scattered night-shining pearls; there was no sense that the end was near.

‘Surely, I’m not going down endlessly like this?’

A vague fear gripped Un-hyun.

He wondered if he would fall into an bottomless abyss.

But Un-hyun shook his head.

‘That can’t be.’

This was the training chamber of the successive Ice Emperors.

People had come and gone, so there must be a bottom.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, Un-hyun realized one thing.

‘This means I have to walk all the way back up when I leave, right?’

It was only natural that he would have to go up as much as he had gone down.

Un-hyun suddenly felt tired.

“Hoo.”

He sighed, but the situation didn’t change.

“Let’s go quickly. That way, we can come back quickly.”

Un-hyun muttered like a sigh, looking at the light of the night-shining pearls and the steep stone steps stretching far away.

Thud, thud.

Un-hyun had emptied his mind and started descending the stairs for quite some time.

Now, almost unconsciously moving his feet, Un-hyun suddenly realized that something had changed.

‘Huh?’

The slope of the stairs had begun to ease.

The passage that had been winding left and right had now become almost straight.

‘Is this finally the end?’

Un-hyun thought so as he stepped down the last step.

However, as he walked a little further along the passage, another stone door appeared before Un-hyun.

Un-hyun approached the stone door.

‘Aha.’

Looking at the stone door, Un-hyun knew where the stone pattern at the entrance had come from.

It was a direct copy of the pattern here.

Un-hyun grasped the same carving he had held before.

‘Ugh.’

The stone door was very cold.

It was incomparable to the one at the entrance.

But he couldn’t enter unless he opened it.

Un-hyun endured and put his strength into pushing it sideways.

However, the stone door did not open.

‘Huh?’

Un-hyun was a little embarrassed.

‘Is this not it?’

Just in case, Un-hyun pulled it.

Still, it didn’t budge.

‘No, what do I do then…….’

It was just then, as Un-hyun was panicking.

Squeak.

The stone door opened slightly inward.

And at the same time, a chilling energy poured out.

It was just as Un-hyun was startled.

Suddenly, Un-hyun’s internal energy seemed to move, and the cold feeling disappeared in an instant.

The chill he had felt a moment ago seemed like a lie.

‘Huh?’

Un-hyun examined his body without realizing it.

But nothing had changed.

The white breath he saw whenever he breathed was still there.

‘Ah, they say that when internal energy is built up, one is not affected by the harm of cold or heat…….’

Un-hyun nodded.

It is said that a master with strong inner strength can endure even in cold places or in the deserts of the heat.

Un-hyun was inwardly pleased that he had become such a person.

At the same time, he was also ashamed that he had not thought of using his inner strength until now.

“Hoo-oo.”

Un-hyun began to regulate his breathing in earnest.

As he used his inner strength, the cold definitely disappeared.

Un-hyun brought his hand back to the half-open stone door.

The cold feeling was much less than before.

Sreuk.

With a light push, the stone door opened without a sound.

And an amazing sight poured into Un-hyun’s vision.

“Oh-oh.”

Un-hyun admired without realizing it.

It was a huge underground void.

A space so high and wide that it was hard to believe it was underground was unfolding before his eyes.

It was large enough to accommodate one or two huge buildings.

However, what caught Un-hyun’s eyes was not the void but the huge something in the middle.

Like a giant crystal, it emitted a bluish light and revealed its overwhelming presence.

‘This is the Eternal Ice Crystal.’

Although it was the first time he had seen it, Un-hyun was certain.

This giant blue crystal-like thing was the Eternal Ice Crystal of the Northern Sea, the Ice Soul.

Thud.

Un-hyun took a step inside.

The underground void was larger and wider than he had thought.

Looking up, he saw something sparkling all over the ceiling and walls.

Thanks to that, the surroundings were quite visible even without the night-shining pearls.

It felt like looking at the stars in the night sky.

‘Are those small things also ice crystals?’

They probably were, but he couldn’t confirm it.

Un-hyun looked at the Eternal Ice Crystal again.

The appearance of the giant Eternal Ice Crystal instantly captivated his eyes.

A strange and awe-inspiring divine object.

Un-hyun agreed with the expression the Ice Emperor had used.

Who wouldn’t be surprised by this sight?

The sight before his eyes was truly a transcendent mystery.

‘Amazing.’

Un-hyun couldn’t stop admiring.

The Eternal Ice Crystal, which looked like a giant crystal overall, gradually became sharper as it came down as if it were stuck upside down in the ceiling.

The pointed part was located at about the height of a person’s eyes, so at first glance, it felt like it was floating in the air.

‘It’s really amazing.’

Un-hyun clicked his tongue.

Seen up close, the appearance of the Eternal Ice Crystal was truly overwhelming.

‘How can such a huge thing be in the deep underground?’

It was truly worthy of being considered a divine object that had protected the Northern Sea since ancient times.

Un-hyun couldn’t close his open mouth in front of the Eternal Ice Crystal, which was said to be the power that supported the Ice Palace.

‘Besides, this can’t be all of it.’

The sight before him was not all of the Eternal Ice Crystal.

If he thought about the part hidden in the ceiling, its size would be unimaginable.

It was just then.

Woong.

A low humming sound was heard.

Un-hyun looked down at the two swords, Myeong and the wooden sword, without realizing it.

But neither sword was crying [emitting a sword-like sound].

‘Huh?’

It was when Un-hyun was thinking strangely.

Woong.

In an instant, a sword revealed its clear image in Un-hyun’s mind.

Un-hyun was shocked.

The appearance of the sword was none other than the Setting Sun, which had disappeared into the light.

‘How can this be?’

It was not the familiar wooden sword, nor his own sword that he always thought of.

It was even less the new sword, Myeong.

The unmistakable image of the Setting Sun appeared clearly in the center of Un-hyun’s mind.

As if it actually existed before his eyes.

Woong.

The low sword cry was flowing out of that Setting Sun.

But Un-hyun’s surprise did not end there.

Woong.

Un-hyun turned his head at the heavy echo he heard in his ear.

And he saw it.

The giant Eternal Ice Crystal was emitting a blue light and humming softly.

‘……Good heavens.’

Un-hyun was shocked.

Woong, woo-oong.

Un-hyun couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes.

The giant Eternal Ice Crystal was crying.

Until just a moment ago, there was no sound at all, but as if sympathizing with the sword cry of the Setting Sun, the Eternal Ice Crystal was emitting a heavy sound.

Not only that.

Even the faint blue light of the Eternal Ice Crystal was repeating brightening and darkening along with the echo.

The reason was clear.

The Setting Sun, which was only an image, and the giant Eternal Ice Crystal were resonating.

쿵 [Kung – sound of something heavy falling].

‘Ugh.’

Un-hyun gritted his teeth.

Koo-oong, koo-ooong.

The heavy echo was now filling the entire underground void.

Even the sword cry of the Setting Sun, which was only an image, was doing the same.

A deafening sound, no, a sound that felt like his head would split open, began to erupt simultaneously from inside and outside.

Koo-oooong.

“Keeu-heuk.”

Un-hyun groaned, covering his ears with both hands.

But it was useless.

Buried in the huge sound that shook his whole body, no, his very existence, he felt like his consciousness would fly away at any moment.

‘W-what is this…….’

He had no idea what the situation was or what to do.

It was just then.

―Control the power.

The soft voice of his sworn brother, Ilchung-hyun, spread through Un-hyun’s heart.

―If you can’t, the power will control you.

The voice of the old reclining Buddha monk followed.

―Then you’ll end up being swayed. Or eaten. Keu-keu-keu.

‘Ah!’

Un-hyun immediately realized what he had to do.

Gritting his teeth, Un-hyun removed his hands from his ears.

He wanted to calm his breathing if possible, but there was no time for that.

쿵 [Kung], Koo-oooong.

In the sound that felt like his whole body would explode, Un-hyun reached out his hand.

It wasn’t because there was something in front of him.

The target of Un-hyun’s hand was the Setting Sun.

Un-hyun reached out his hand towards the sword of the image, the Setting Sun, which was standing proudly, emitting light.

Sarak.

The Setting Sun Sword was grasped in Un-hyun’s hand.

There was no time to think about what to do or how to do it.

Swoosh.

Without realizing it, Un-hyun was already starting.

It was the only swordsmanship that Un-hyun could reproduce even in his dreams, the White Tiger Training Sword.

Koo-oooong, 쿵 [Kung].

The huge echo shook the underground void.

But Un-hyun couldn’t hear anything.

He couldn’t see anything either.

Hoo-oong.

Only the sword path of the White Tiger Training Sword drawn by the shining Setting Sun was unfolding proudly from Un-hyun’s fingertips.

Kwagwagwagwak.

Now, the Eternal Ice Crystal was emitting a huge energy along with a tremendous light.

The intensely bright light that seemed to blind his eyes and the huge energy that seemed to destroy everything swept through the underground void like a storm.

But Un-hyun’s sword dance did not stop.

Rather, the Setting Sun, as it had been originally, resonated with the Eternal Ice Crystal and continued its sword path along with the huge flow.

Hoo-woo-woo.

In the proudly flowing sword path, Un-hyun forgot everything.

No, nothing else had any meaning anymore.

In the huge flow sweeping through the underground void, Un-hyun’s sword dance was continuing like a dream flowing through eternity.

And at some point.

Hoo-ook.

A strange illusion began to unfold before Un-hyun’s eyes.

It was a sword dance that Un-hyun had never seen before, but it was more wondrous and extremely amazing.