Chapter 206

The Moon Lady’s sword technique unfolds gracefully.

The sword, tracing a round arc, suddenly strikes downward like the hook of a snatching technique and then shoots upwards, as the right hand, tightly pulled to the left, extends to pierce diagonally from left to right.

With that, Pang Choryeo spins away, narrowly dodging as the wooden sword barely misses the curve of her waist.

As Pang Choryeo’s hair unfurls, at that moment, Qing’s eyes sparkled.

A gap!

Qing pulled back the sword and raised her hand high.

Next, the wooden sword descended sharply, targeting Pang Choryeo’s crown.

The sword plunged through the thick strands of Pang Choryeo’s hair. But it felt as if it was slicing through empty air—

Wham! Qing’s world spun around.

Pang Choryeo turned her body and swept the ground with the club she held, the heavy metal ball gaining momentum as it arched back, striking Qing’s calf with a thud.

Qing’s feet lifted off the ground, tilting sideways as she tumbled, falling on her shoulder.

“Ugh, sigh…”

The groan was surprisingly unimpressive, considering how roughly she had fallen. Even though she had been struck on the calf, throwing her entirely sideways.

She sprang up, rubbed her calf a few times, and rolled her shoulder before grabbing her sword again.

And they continued for another twenty bouts.

This time, after taking a solid hit on her thigh below the pelvis, Qing let out a low hiss as she gently patted the area.

Je-gal Lee-hyun looked at her with a pale face and cautiously spoke up.

“Sister Pang? Could you go a bit easier on her…?”

“How much easier can I go? I can’t forcefully slow down the pace.”

Pang Choryeo wielded a blunt heavy club instead of a great sword. When adding the handle, it was a solid six-and-a-half feet of solid metal.

It weighed just under twenty pounds.

Such a heavy tool cannot be swung with brute strength alone.

You need to follow the flow, press down with the weight of the weapon itself; it’s all about momentum. If you collide, you create large arcs that continuously flow.

Pang Choryeo was just holding the great sword straight at first, then gradually mixed in finesse and tricks.

By this point, even though Pang Choryeo used various skilled martial artist techniques, Qing could manage over twenty bouts.

After a long time of uniquely letting loose, Pang Choryeo wiped her sweat away with an expression of pure relief.

Qing, covered in dirt from her cheap training uniform, brushed herself off and urged,

“Huff. Who’s next? Swordmaster?”

“Me! I’ve been waiting!”

“Don’t waste time, get out of the way.”

Once Qing was fired up for practice, everyone felt like true warriors, equally excited.

Namgoong Shin-jae might always be in a blazing state, but Pang’s siblings were gradually growing accustomed to Qing’s absurd training methods.

Thanks to that, the sounds of Qing getting hit were different from when they started ten days ago.

What used to sound like light taps—thud, boom, slap—had now escalated to sounds that would tire out any listener.

It was only natural that the rare visits from Je-gal Lee-hyun would bring a worried frown to his face.

“Sister Tang, is this sparring okay? Normally, a person’s body can’t take that kind of a beating, can it?”

For some reason, Tang Nan-ah, who had been engrossed in memorization training, tilted her head at his words.

However, having spent a long time with Qing, she replied,

“Hmm? Qing? She looks fine to me.”

“Are you saying she’s okay?”

“Qing is sturdy! She always surrounds herself with protective Qi, so just getting hit won’t hurt her bones, let alone her muscles. Sharp blades won’t even touch her! She can’t even spit it out. Ugh, this won’t come off. Could you help me out?”

“Oh, sure.”

Je-gal Lee-hyun quickly extracted the memorization scrolls tightly packed into the mannequin.

Tang Nan-ah, receiving them one by one, shoved them into her sleeves, pockets, and long flowing robes.

Her usual ample and lengthy attire, which she favored, was, in fact, more functional as a storage space for memorization than for style.

Je-gal Lee-hyun observed this and thought to himself.

Never cross the Tang family warrior.

“Anyway, isn’t it good to work hard? I also feel like I should practice my memorization too. Seeing her progress like this makes me think, ‘So that’s how she reached peak proficiency.’ Isn’t that amazing? Our Qing.”

Je-gal Lee-hyun nodded in agreement.

After all, he also understood that warriors often blurred the lines between hardship and diligence.

Thus, when evening came, Qing appeared quite the sight.

Her training outfit, completely drenched in sweat, rolled through the training ground, sticking to the ground not with dust, but with mud.

“Huff…”

Today’s success rate was about one portion.

The success rate hadn’t improved or decreased.

However, everyone was increasingly serious in their sparring, escalating their levels of aggression.

Could it be said they’ve come a long way?

As Qing proudly dragged her heavy and tired body toward the bathhouse, a voice suddenly piped up.

“Tsk, tsk. What a splendid thing to do.”

Startled by the sudden voice, she turned her head to see a short middle-aged man leaning against a tree.

“Lady, you startled me. Who are you? I feel like we’ve met somewhere before…”

“What’s wrong? You don’t remember?”

“Oh! The guy who sold fake books!”

Qing recalled the unusually speech-patterned book merchant from the black market.

Having heard about the Martial Art of Stealth from Je-gal Lee-hyun, she figured she should have a general idea of his identity.

Could this man have taken my Magic Flute?

But asking that would mean confessing that she knew his identity, so Qing kept her thoughts under wraps for now.

“I’m Cheon Yu-hak. But after watching you for several days, I’ve realized that you’re quite the ruthless girl.”

“Me? I’m fine, but you shouldn’t speak like that. What if it gets back to my master? He’d be furious.”

The book merchant was indeed a rather suspicious character, so Qing purposely mentioned Seomun Sulin.

“Why? Is there something wrong with what I just said?”

“If I weren’t this person but instead a guy, would you still call it ruthless?”

So this guy has been rolling around all day, sweating while getting hit, and is now totally solid in his resolve! What a fine character he is to grow into! But if it were a girl, that would be terrible, thinking essentially, “Who would take her away?” and tsk-tsked.

Given the mindset of warriors, Seomun Sulin must have faced quite the ruckus when she was young.

“Hm. But I might have called you foolish…”

Cheon Yu-hak, who had hit a nerve, shifted the topic.

“By the way, what kind of training are you doing that looks like you’re just trying to exhaust yourself? To me, it seems like you’re just pushing yourself to the brink. Why? Is it simply gratifying to feel sore from all that sweat and pain?”

The statement hit home.

Being a warrior capable of observing from a distance, he could uncover the ideals hidden beneath the surface of their hard work.

Qing’s expression hardened.

Who does this man think he is to suddenly attack her?

“Although it looks like this, I’ve made incredible progress, you know? Originally, I couldn’t even last a few exchanges, but now they’re all taking me seriously.”

“Pfft. Progress? Even a street dog that gets hit enough would learn to dodge. Does that mean skills are improving? You’ve just gotten used to taking hits.”

“That’s still a skill!”

“When you switch opponents, you’ll get hit again. Are you planning to go around the entire martial world just to take beatings?”

But look at the way this guy is speaking.

What a lack of manners!

Qing’s eyebrows twitched.

But for now, she held back.

“Anyone can give unsolicited advice, you know? So do you have some amazing training method to share?”

“You’re right. Anyone can give advice. Should I just clap and cheer for you while you’re slaving away with nothing to gain?”

“Then I don’t know any other methods. I’ll just do what I’ve been doing. I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but keep up what you’re doing. Bye now.”

Qing bowed her head slightly and turned away.

If he wasn’t going to help, then listening to his ridiculous advice would only ruin her mood.

“No, wait. Are you leaving just like that?”

“Of course. Do you have something to say?”

Cheon Yu-hak realized, oops, he might have been too harsh in his tone out of frustration.

He quickly grabbed Qing, who was about to leave.

“Don’t you want to master finesse? You look like you’re trying to learn to infuse your sword with energy.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmm. The sword isn’t a particularly flexible object, so you can’t expect to achieve that just from swinging it a thousand times. Softness doesn’t come that way.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Get a sharp dagger. No, wait. Here.”

Cheon Yu-hak pulled a dagger from his robe and tossed it toward her in a graceful arc.

As Qing caught it and drew it out, she sensed it was no ordinary blade, the edge sharper than expected.

“Oh? Is this for me?”

“Just borrowing it. From now on, think of it as your hand and try using it instead.”

“What does that mean? Use it instead of my hand?”

“Exactly that. Use it to do everything your hands would normally do. Eat, dress, do everything—except when sleeping. I trust you understand that you can’t use your left hand?”

Qing looked at the dagger with a perplexed expression.

After all, a master wouldn’t lend a valuable dagger just to toy with her, right?

“Are you serious about this?”

“Serious? That’s how I learned it.”

“Um. Thanks.”

Qing gave a slight nod in gratitude.

Cheon Yu-hak also nodded back and continued.

“By the way, you don’t need that Magic Flute, do you? I wrote a note and tucked a handkerchief inside the flute, remember?”

“Oh, that one. Why would you take someone else’s stuff?”

“That one? If you read the letter, you should’ve come to me immediately!”

Cheon Yu-hak was baffled.

Yet, Qing remained calm.

“When I looked later, it was switched. The magic time had already passed, and it said only harmless things, so I thought you’d contact me again.”

“Wouldn’t you rush to me if a precious treasure was stolen? You can’t ignore it like it’s some errand you forgot.”

“Who wants that dull flute anyway? It won’t make a sound after all.”

“Kid, do you know how much this piece of aged iron is worth? If you melted it down to make a sword, it’d be a Divine Sword, a treasure beyond compare.”

“Is there a need to melt down a perfectly good flute to make a sword? Isn’t a flute more valuable than a sword that just cuts people?”

“Geez, what nonsense from a Daoist…”

Qing doesn’t say it because she’s a Daoist, but simply because she lacks desires.

It’s not in Qing’s nature; rather, it’s due to her circumstances.

Someone who cannot guarantee the next day won’t bother saving, and sudden changes in the world will flip one’s perspective on the future completely.

Once something happens, it’s more than normal for it to occur again.

Cheon Yu-hak quickly steered the conversation toward the main point.

“Hmm. But tell me, have you ever thought of learning martial arts? I have several well-known high-level divine techniques.”

“Thank you.”

Qing bowed her head again.

Cheon Yu-hak’s expression brightened.

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