Chapter 319

Qing thought about it seriously.

Something was bothering her.

“Hey. Don’t just stand there like a tree, come sit here.”

Great Master Mucheondae unleashed a long Sword Aura from his sword, tapping the stone floor in front of him.

It was a new use of Sword Aura that Qing had no idea about.

“But that’s a stone floor, right? Usually, you’d tell someone to sit beside you instead? There’s plenty of space on that rock.”

“Are you trying to match me, an adult? If I’m sitting here, then you naturally have to sit on the ground. Looking at your chubby butt, you probably don’t need a cushion. Being plump, anywhere you sit is comfy enough.”

“Is that really what I feel inside? Do I want to hear such teasing?”

“Who knows? Maybe you’re secretly unhappy with your body. So, are you going to keep standing like that? If you don’t like it, then just sit.”

With that, Qing sat obediently on the floor.
Ah, the stone floor, great.

Using one hand to support her body, she slightly raised her butt and brushed the ground with the other hand.

The young martial artist, practicing Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, swept the stone floor with determination, scattering stones and dust everywhere.

“Now, take a look up there.”

Afterward, Mucheondae pointed at the sky with his Sword Aura.

Qing tilted her upper body back and raised her head—

“Oh wow.”

The black night sky was filled with stars, shining white, blue, red, all together illuminating the vast emptiness like an ocean of starlight.

It was the Milky Way she had only seen through screens in her hometown, the photos all edited to the point of being near creation.

Perhaps due to a transcendent vision of humans, or maybe because in the medieval, underdeveloped ancient Central Plain, there was no oil chemistry, and thus the air was incredibly clean… or perhaps there was no artificial light to brighten the night on this earth; who knows?

Maybe it was all three.

Because she was looking at the sky without pollution or human-made lights.

“It’s the Celestial River.”

For people of the Central Plain, the sky is originally black. In other words, the sky color for them is black.

Because the first four letters you learn are “sky,” “heaven” is black and “earth” is yellow, so they say the clear sky is “blue sky and white sun,” while bright days are just “day.” There’s no term for black sky, because they never attach a descriptor to something that is originally black.

And in Qing’s hometown, they don’t attach the color to the original color either; they wouldn’t say “black African,” right?

“The kids in the southern regions always stick to the stars. Heaven’s Thirty-Six Swords, Heavenly Star Sword, Wujin Sword, Galaxy’s Beauties, Taeeul’s Divine Skills, Galaxy’s Heavenly River Divine Skills, Primeval Skills, Big Dipper Divine Skills, Galaxy’s Floating Dreams, Heavenly River Big Dipper Truth. All stars, stars, stars!”

“The names all sound cool.”

“Tch. Look at the world again. Everyone is born with a star. Just as there are countless heads in this world, so are there stars above.”

“I think there are way more stars.”

“How do you know? Have you counted them? Have you counted the number of people on this earth versus the stars in the sky?”

“Not really, but that’s how it goes, right? I mean, wouldn’t you have to count to know if there are the same number of people and stars?”

“Tch. Don’t be childish, are you a kid? Just grown but acting like a child. You’re too big, actually.”

Wow, seriously? Qing was struck speechless for once.

So much for being the best in the world, did they win through verbal battles?

“Why argue when you have a good sword? Just poke them and be done with it.”

“Could you not read my thoughts all the time?”

“Enough. Everyone carries a star inside them, and that’s called their celestial nature. The talents given by heaven, thus, as they shine down with starry light, it becomes their destiny.”

“Hmm. In this universe, that’s how it’s measured. With sound and all.”

“… Why is the universe suddenly brought up?”

For the people of the Central Plain, the concept of outside the sky doesn’t exist. In the Dao, there’s only Heaven above Heaven, and in the Buddhistic view, there are only the Three Thousand Worlds stacked vertically. For the Central Plain folks, the universe refers to time and space, the entire world itself.

“Whatever. But your star is known to be a very bad omen. Besides, the timing is not right for it to shine in the mundane world. Why do you carry such a bad star inside you? Why did you have to hold onto Heaven’s Kill?”

“Why are you asking me? What does it even mean?”

“What I mean is that you are the very scum of the earth. Now, tell me. Don’t you have a hunch about this?”

Qing just went along with it.

“Hmm. Actually… I’ve always heard about qualifications. I don’t really get it. I just… um… just a bit through some good direction?”

“What do you mean by somehow? What good direction?”

“Killing is fun? Watching victims cry and scream with their pants wet is so much fun! I never get tired of it! I want to do it again, and again?”

“I knew it was bad when I came down. Seems it’s worse than I thought. It’s literally the embodiment of Big Malice itself.”

“You just got here—”

Mucheondae interrupted Qing’s speech.

“But with such thoughts, your good deeds are sky-high.”

“Oh! You know about good deeds too?”

Qing perked up and asked.
What the heck! It wasn’t just me who could see it!

Turns out, she wasn’t the only odd one!

Mucheondae chuckled a bit.

“People like you don’t know.”

“I’m a master in my own right, you know?”

“When did a Supreme Martial Artist become a master? Only when reaching the realm of a sage can you take your first steps. You can almost see it once you pass through life and death. So how did you manage to do such good deeds?”

“Because I exclusively kill bad people? Killing those who deserve death is no issue! It’s a service to the world, even!”

“No issues? You think it’s simple? So?”

“But still, everyone says the same thing. What makes you qualified to talk about judgment. That’s a bit uncomfortable, right? Honestly, I’m just enjoying my hobbies and doing some good at the same time. I’m not proclaiming that it’s divine punishment or anything.”

“So?”

“That’s just how it is. Am I justified? Can I do this? Honestly, even bad people might not remain bad until their last breath, right? Of course, maybe one out of a hundred might actually change.”

“With those questions on your mind, you’ve been quite ruthless in killing, it seems?”

“Well, to let one bad guy change means good people would have to suffer. Why should good people work hard to rehabilitate one bad guy? They should instead use that time to do better things.”

“Hmm. Where to even start examining this? I understand your worries. You talk just like a woman. It’s downright infuriating. You’re such trash.”

Another personal attack came flying in.

Qing frowned and made a pouting sound.

“What now?”

“Didn’t you just ask for support? You want to hear me say that killing without hesitation brings you heavenly rewards, right? That’s what women always say. You kill and then expect me to absolve you saying I’m not in the wrong, right? Isn’t this just trashy? Pure trash?”

“Don’t you think I need some comfort right now? What if I spiral down crazy? I might really become a Big Malice!”

Mucheondae scoffed.

“Comfort? If that’s your choice, don’t seek understanding. And don’t run from the results, take responsibility. That’s what a warrior does. Yup.”

“Could I really become a Big Malice? You’d actually allow me, even if I’m going around butchering like crazy?”

“Then all the people will be trying to stop you. Plus, don’t you hate being hated?”

“Well….”

“And the Moon’s Forgotten Finger Sharing.”

“Huh? Teaching me this suddenly?”

“Now, watch carefully.”

Mucheondae drew his sword, swiftly swinging it vertically once and then horizontally.

“Is that it?”

“That’s all there is.”

“But you didn’t even use Sword Aura.”

“Sword Aura is starlight. But if you look at the moon, you must forget the finger pointing at it. Once you touch the starlight pointing at you, forget about the starlight. So, no longer depending on the sky, no longer following the celestial decree, if I directly gaze into my heart and understand it, and align my sword to the center of the world (Sword Fixing Central Plain), then the sword no longer needs to shine.”

Qing turned her head back, mouth agape.

At some point, a tremendous cross had been engraved on the cliff.

Above stood a massive scar horizontal to ten more above it.

“The Seven Forgetting Fingers of the Broken Cut Blade, Forgotten Finger Pointing at the Moon.”

Look at the moon and forget the finger pointing at it.

“In the past, a Daoist was one who opposed the sky’s will. Reverse Heaven, living long with wealth and health while taking numerous concubines, wishing for days of endless pleasure and riches.”

“Do you really have to explain it this way?”

“So very ancient Daoist techniques do that. They manipulate the earthly cycle to fool the heavens with formations. They put everything forbidden into pills they consume and indulge in all while avoiding the natural course of childbirth, just cultivating Inner Strength.”

Since a certain moment, reversing the heavens began to change into following the mandate, so since the day of the intermediary advancing firmly onward, the practice aimed at understanding the will of heaven and merging with it.

“But humans should not do that. Rather than understanding and accepting their celestial nature, they should overcome it, let the mind arise and control it at will.”

“Whoa, hold on a second.”

Suddenly, her mind felt distant, the world blurred and smeared, and the stars in the sky traced long tails, drawing large circles.

“Your predetermined fate lies with the heavenly stars, your natural qualities. Some have no talent, some carry wicked qualities, while others lament their humble bloodlines, saying, ‘What can I do being born this way?’ But should we just lament like that? People are born to be rulers of their world, to bring change.”

Mucheondae stood up.

The old man was no bigger than a child on the ground, yet in this moment, he exuded a presence bigger than anyone else, larger than the world itself.

“Child born with the harshest celestial nature, dwell deeply on your doubts and fears. The moment comes when you can control your heart at will, then you will not waver with the starlight.”

In the process, Mucheondae, who was slowly radiating a brilliant human light, had a face that, while unseen, seemed somehow to be smiling.

Qing’s body moved on its own and she drew her sword.

“Wait, what?”

“You got to swing it at least once. Supreme Martial Artist? Your realm is at the bug level so for now you’ll be a fool. If you want to see another Jeolgeumbyeok, wait at least two months before looking again. You might just end up dead.”

Now seeing his smiling face held a sinister, mischievous expression filled with malice.

“Hold on a second…! Argh!”

In an instant, her Dantian convulsed, and all her Inner Strength surged up, racing through all of her veins.

All the abilities of the divine skills mastered beyond her realm collided with the strain from her Dantian, the thickest pathway ripping apart under pressure, a sharp pain that felt overwhelmingly intense radiating through her entire body. Why won’t my Inner Strength listen to me…!

Qing realized.

Oh. This is bad.