Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 223

The area was littered with monster corpses.

Everywhere one stepped, there was blood and chunks of flesh, and a thick miasma [a noxious or poisonous atmosphere] hung in the air, giving it a faint purplish tinge.

This was the deepest part of the unexplored region.

I, Tae-shin, head of the Sungmoo Yi family, stood here with the Ten Swords—a place few warriors could ever reach.

“…So, with the Head of the Council of Elders dead, along with several other elders, the Council has been reorganized overall.”

One of the Ten Swords, a man carrying a massive greatsword, finished his report.

Considerable time had passed since the incident with the Head of the Council of Elders, but because I, Tae-shin, had ventured so deep into the unexplored region, receiving the report had been delayed.

“So, the youngest has grown that much.”

After hearing the whole story, those were the first words I, Tae-shin, uttered.

The death of Yi Cheol-joong didn’t seem to matter much to him.

Instead, he seemed more interested in Yi Cheol’s current strength.

“That seems to be the case, according to what we’ve heard. He apparently survived the battle with the Nine Dragons Lord as well.”

“The youngest is, what, twenty-four now?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Twenty-four.

An age that could be described as both young and immature.

Yet, Yi Cheol had already achieved the martial prowess to stand alongside the world’s most prominent figures.

No matter how much enlightenment mattered more than time spent training beyond a certain point, there were still limits.

‘Is it because of the Choi family blood?’

The child who inherited the blood of both the Sungmoo Yi family and the Soongjung Choi family.

Since he was born with two bloodlines that were never meant to mix, could that be the reason?

Or perhaps…

“However, he doesn’t seem to have fully reached the level of a Grade 2 Warrior. He suddenly applied for secluded training and entered Cheonwisan Mountain. In fact, there was no confirmed use of a complete Mind Sword.”

“……”

Tae-shin narrowed his eyes, pondering those words.

Before long, he guessed Yi Cheol’s current state.

“…He must be having a difficult time.”

Tae-shin muttered as he rose from his seat.

He used his magical power to levitate several swords that had been placed beside him, thinking of Yi Cheol.

‘He succeeded in opening the door, but he couldn’t see what lay beyond.’

Tae-shin knew better than anyone the unique martial path Yi Cheol was walking.

A magical power art that used both the magic core and magic circuit simultaneously.

A martial art with no origin.

Those two things were clearly amazing powers and could be considered great martial arts.

However, at the moment of entering the realm of transcendence, that very freedom might become a shackle.

Tae-shin felt a strong sense of anticipation and interest in the outcome.

But he quickly grabbed a sword and shook off his thoughts.

At that moment, the member of the Ten Swords who had been giving the report carefully added, “Conserve your strength. We will clear the path.”

“It will arrive soon, so there’s no point in conserving it now,” Tae-shin said, slowly moving forward.

That place was filled only with death.

The bushes, the soil, the air—everything was stained black and dying.

Tae-shin could clearly feel the presence of something sleeping ahead.

A monster called Extinction.

Tae-shin swung his sword and entered the territory of the monster that was beginning to awaken.

* * *

From the day after entering Cheonwisan Mountain, I started training without delay.

To achieve the goal of this secluded training, there was no time to waste.

‘If it weren’t for the Black Crow’s Feather, if it weren’t for that belated realization… I would have died in the fight against the Nine Dragons Lord or in the Black Night’s test.’

I retraced the events I had experienced one by one.

The fight in Zone B-1.

The battle with the Nine Dragons Lord.

The battle with the Council of Elders and the main family’s martial artists.

The illusory battle in the Black Night’s sixth seal…

Some might say it was amazing just to have fought those battles at the young age of twenty-four.

Even I, in my previous life, or even right after my regression [reincarnation or rebirth], couldn’t have imagined achieving that.

It was certainly a great accomplishment.

But.

‘It’s woefully inadequate. There are still countless beings stronger than me in this world.’

What I felt in those battles were my own limitations.

I tasted death in the fight against the Nine Dragons Lord.

Of course, I was well aware that the Nine Dragons Lord, Cheol Wi-seong, was a figure who controlled the world.

He was one of the strongest people in the world, even among billions.

Moreover, I wasn’t in perfect condition either.

But those were just excuses.

In the end, losing was losing.

‘I have to get stronger, so that my destiny or future isn’t determined by someone else’s hands.’

I thought of my father.

That absolute being who felt like he could cut through the whole world with a single sword.

I imagined a future where I would one day stand where my father stood, defeat him, and win.

That was what I was aiming for.

The sight I wanted to see could only be seen by reaching the same level as them.

There was no way I could be satisfied with my current level.

And to do that, I needed to overcome the wall that was blocking me now.

‘At least 3 years. I will obtain the Mind Sword within that time.’

This realm that I had reached, but had only obtained small clues about.

I would perfectly realize the Mind Sword here.

Whoosh!

Soon, countless weapons, along with Black Night, sharply cut through the air.

He who realizes himself will overcome the wall of transcendence.

I repeated the words that had been passed down like an old saying among warriors, and began to swing my sword again.

‘Realize yourself.’

I still didn’t know why I hadn’t obtained the Mind Sword even though I had opened the door.

No, in the first place, I hadn’t even clearly defined what the Mind Sword was.

So, I decided to aim to realize that first.

Woooong! Hwaak!

I could wield weapons faster than anyone else, but I continued to train, carefully considering each strike.

The sword paths being swung did not deviate from the principles of the 12 solar terms [24 periods that divide the year in the traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars].

Boooom! Hwaak!

I kept moving the weapons.

And I kept asking myself questions.

To reach the Mind Sword, that realm.

* * *

Over a year had passed since entering Cheonwisan Mountain.

Unlike the secluded training I did in Cheonwisan Mountain 10 years ago, the current training was quite static.

Unlike then, I spent most of my day meditating, and even when I wielded weapons, I moved very slowly.

Woooowoong!

I focused solely on training, retracing the sensations of the Mind Swords I had seen so far and the Mind Sword I had directly unfolded.

‘The feeling of taking the enlightenment within me and putting it out.’

Woooowoong!

The aura scattered in the air began to dye the space more thickly, like a fog.

‘The feeling that the structure and flow of all power is understood.’

Deudeudeudeuk!

A powerful force began to erupt from the aura.

The operation of power with the enlightenment gained through the 12 solar terms, a storm of powerful force created by subtle differences.

Hoo-oook!

And I slowly raised Black Night above my head.

The released black aura swirled around Black Night, seeming to take shape.

An unprecedentedly powerful force dwelled within.

‘I can cut it.’

Recalling the sensation I felt during the battle with Guisu Mountain, I tried to bring the sword down.

But at that moment.

Whooooosh!

The wriggling, condensed aura exploded, sweeping the surroundings.

Watching the fragments of aura scatter in a vortex, I sighed and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“Failed.”

I casually brushed it off and gripped Black Night again, assuming my stance.

But I couldn’t deny feeling deflated.

‘The good thing is, at least I know why I can’t grasp the Mind Sword.’

I pressed down hard on the hilt of Black Night in my hand.

After dedicating myself to training for a year, I was finally able to understand one thing.

‘The reason I haven’t reached the Mind Sword.’

Martial artists who reach a certain level usually establish their own firm domain.

My father, the Nine Dragons Fortress Lord Cheol Wi-seong, Henry Russell, Saintess Christina, my eldest brother, and my second sister were all the same.

Establishing one’s own martial path.

In other words, knowing oneself.

That question, which felt like an age-old philosophical topic, was the first gateway to entering the realm of transcendence.

And I knew what my domain was.

‘My martial path is freedom.’

Whether it’s martial arts, magic, or anything else in life.

I pursued freedom.

And that’s where the problem arose.

‘My strength is freedom, and my problem is also freedom.’

I can be anything, and I can aim for anything.

The Mind Sword is reached by refining a single path to its extreme, but for me, who can do and be anything, it wasn’t easy to decide what to make my own.

‘So, should I give this up now?’

I can’t do that.

That’s compromise and surrender.

The moment I decide to do that, the realm of the Mind Sword will probably slip away from my grasp.

‘I already have experience unfolding the Mind Sword. It’s not impossible.’

I recalled the battle with the Nine Dragons Fortress Lord.

In that moment on the verge of life and death, when everything became clear.

My sword clearly succeeded in deflecting the Nine Dragons Fortress Lord’s Mind Sword.

‘That feeling. What was I thinking then?’

I picked up my weapon again and continued training.

And so, time continued to flow.

* * *

The mountain keeper stared wide-eyed at the medicinal bath.

Lee Cheol was lying inside the medicinal bath.

His whole body was covered in wounds from whatever he had been doing, and blood flowing from those wounds was spreading slowly through the medicinal bath.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“I got a little hurt while training, so I’m healing.”

The mountain keeper chuckled in disbelief.

“You’re really crazy. That’s just a little hurt? You seemed to be training quietly, but why are you suddenly all battered?”

“I overdid it a bit. It doesn’t hurt as much as it looks.”

Not hurt much?

It looked like a murder had happened.

The mountain keeper shook his head and waved his hand.

The blood spreading in the medicinal bath simultaneously floated into the air and scattered on the floor.

Then, Lee Cheol’s body, hidden by the blood, was revealed.

“Goodness, you’re really hurt a lot.”

Numerous wounds covered his body as if ditches had been carved into it.

The mountain keeper frowned and looked at Lee Cheol again.

“You’re lying in the bath reading a book with all those wounds?”

The mountain keeper frowned as he looked at the hardcover book in Lee Cheol’s hand.

It was as if he were a patient with no pain; Lee Cheol was lying in the bath with a book in his hand even in that wounded state.

“This is also a book needed for training.”

“Is it some kind of ultimate secret manual?”

The mountain keeper scoffed and said.

But Lee Cheol’s answer was unexpected.

“It’s similar. But it doesn’t have any secrets written in it.”

“What?”

I put my finger in the book, closed it, and looked at the cover.

This book was a copy of the book in which the successive heads of the Soongmoo family had written their memoirs.

Unlike secret books containing various techniques, it contained everyday content and ramblings about enlightenment.

Unlike the secret manuals that were organized with only the necessary content for easy reading, this book was a jumbled mess of various content.

“Why are you reading that?”

“I thought it would be necessary, so I brought it before coming here.”

I opened the book again and read the contents.

[The Mind Sword is just a word to describe a realm. And those who reach that realm each have a different Mind Sword.

The Mind Sword begins with an understanding of the world. It is the embodiment of the martial path that I have walked in the world. The Mind Sword is myself…]

It was the memoir of the 43rd head of the Soongmoo family, Ancestor Lee Mook-ryong.

Not all of the successive heads of the Soongmoo family had reached the realm of the Mind Sword, and even fewer of those who did bothered to leave their enlightenment in writing.

And I always devoured these records when I wasn’t training.

‘Freedom…’

I felt strangely suffocated.

There must be an answer, but it doesn’t come out.

Everything is ready, but it’s as if one puzzle piece is missing.

“What’s so difficult? Tell me. This old man will listen.”

I chuckled at the mountain keeper’s words.

“It’s just… I feel like I’m mediocre at everything because I know how to do too many things.”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

The mountain keeper snorted and gulped down his alcohol.

“I don’t know what it is, but if the problem is that you know how to do too many things, then just do them all, right?”

“That’s not the answer, so I’m worried.”

“Hmm. All I’ve learned from living this long is that everything in the world is the same in the end. It’s a loss if you think too complicatedly.”

The mountain keeper swirled his bottle of alcohol while saying something like a Zen riddle.

I frowned and looked at the mountain keeper.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, the taste of alcohol is different for each one, right? But in the end, they’re all just ‘alcohol’. It’s just a matter of what you add to the alcohol. If you’re ambiguous because you know how to do everything, then just find the one thing that applies to everything, right? So in the end, you’re doing everything. Originally, all things in the universe are like that…”

“… !”

Splash!

I kicked off the water and stood up.

“Wh-what is it?”

The mountain keeper, with wide eyes and a bewildered expression, stepped back.

‘…Many streams flow to one source.’

The basic principle of martial arts that appears in any martial arts book.

Why had I forgotten that?

In the end, even if I can handle all weapons and all techniques.

It is the human body that unfolds it.

Everything returns to one flow.

Just as the pillars of countless branches are ultimately one.