It Really Isn’t Easy

The sword fused with the arm aimed for Namgung Jin-yeong and Gyo-ha.
A terrifying momentum.
The two had no choice but to evade and retreat.
When they pulled back, the Martial Prowess Unit Leader stepped back as well.

“Hah, you’re still moving in that state?”

Blood was still flowing from the diagonal gash.
His neck was even cut so deep you could clearly see the bone.
With it split open, even his head was bent sideways.
Namgung Jin-yeong’s complexion wasn’t good either.
The earlier shock had left him with severe internal injuries.
Gyo-ha was the same.
He looked fine on the outside, but inside he was a mess.

‘I have to end this quickly.’

You could see its wounds recovering with the naked eye.
But it also looked startled.
It wasn’t charging like it had when they first met.

[…Human… bastards.]

When the unit leader opened his mouth, his throat bobbed and he spat blood.
At the horrific sight, Namgung Jin-yeong furrowed his brow.
He had roamed Kangho for a long time, but he’d never even heard of a thing like that.

“It’s time to let that boy go.”

Namgung Jin-yeong leveled his sword.
He couldn’t stand watching him be toyed with any longer.
Gyo-ha took his stance too.
The unit leader hesitated. Then he launched himself backward.
The Namgung Clan’s Heavenly Wind Movement Art.

“You’re trying to run now of all times!”

Fury rose in Namgung Jin-yeong’s eyes.
But Gyo-ha, beside him, noticed something else.

“We have to catch him!”

Namgung Jin-yeong knew too. But the reason Gyo-ha shouted that was different.
The direction the unit leader had leapt toward.
A group of people appeared there.

“Elder Sword Saint!”

Beggars’ Union disciples who had come out after receiving a messenger pigeon.
At their front was the Wuhan branch master.
Only then did Namgung Jin-yeong’s expression change.
Because he realized its goal. The ones rushing over also swallowed their breaths when they saw the unit leader.

“What in the world is that…”

They could tell the unit leader wasn’t normal.
Because he didn’t appear human.

“Get back!”

At Namgung Jin-yeong’s shout, the Beggars’ Union disciples reacted.
And the aura pouring from the unit leader’s body was anything but ordinary.
But not every Beggars’ Union disciple did.
The unit leader’s sword drove into the chest of a disciple who stood there dumbly.

“…Gae-pyeong!”
“You bastard!”

The Beggars’ Union disciples all struck their palms toward the unit leader at once.
Hit by the palm strikes, the unit leader’s body swayed this way and that.
Unlike before, he allowed the attacks far too easily.
Soon, the unit leader collapsed.
But the Beggars’ Union disciples realized something was wrong.
The sword that had been attached to the unit leader’s arm was gone.
Not just the sword, there was nothing below the wrist.
The sword’s whereabouts were easy to see.
Kulleong, kulleong.
The Beggars’ Union disciple who had fallen backward got up again.
The sword pulsing as it was embedded in his chest.
At the grotesque sight, the disciples swallowed their breaths.
That made their reaction slow.
The disciple with the sword in his chest started to run.

“Pyeong, you!”

There was no time to stop him. Then Namgung Jin-yeong’s voice reached their ears.

“Duck.”

They ducked instinctively.
Above them, Namgung Jin-yeong’s sword shot out.
Sword Qi.
Sword Qi wrapped in lightning split the fleeing disciple’s back.
The disciple collapsed limply.
But he sprang up again and started running.
Namgung Jin-yeong’s knee wobbled as he tried to pursue.
Instead of Namgung Jin-yeong, Gyo-ha chased after the disciple.
He couldn’t let him get away.

“W-we’ll also—”
“Stop.”

Namgung Jin-yeong stopped the Beggars’ Union disciples who tried to follow.
They would only get in the way.
They might become that thing’s new host. It was better to leave it to Gyo-ha.

“E-elder Sword Saint. What was that just now?”

The branch master ran up with a shocked face.

“…A cursed sword that controls people.”

It was unbelievable. But it was reality that had happened right in front of them.

“May I ask you for a favor?”

As he spoke to the branch master, Namgung Jin-yeong sat in a lotus position.
At that sight, the branch master realized Namgung Jin-yeong’s condition.

“I’ll escort you back to the branch.”
“No. It’s not over yet.”

If they let it escape like this, next time it would become truly terrifying.
When Namgung Jin-yeong closed his eyes, the Beggars’ Union disciples raised their aura.
They stood in all directions, keeping watch.
They were standing guard.
In a situation like this, circulating and regulating one’s Qi was dangerous. If they harbored other thoughts, even Namgung Jin-yeong’s life would be at risk.
It meant he trusted the Beggars’ Union that much.
The Beggars’ Union also had to repay that trust.
The branch master looked at those who remained.
The Medicine Hall Chief of the Namgung Clan was at the branch. He was going to send someone quick to fetch Healing Pills.
The Beggars’ Union had Healing Pills too, but they were tailored to the Beggars’ Union’s internal energy.
As he looked over the disciples, the branch master spat a curse.

“Damn it.”

Because there was no one as fast as him.
Of course. If someone like that existed, he would be the branch master instead of him.

“No matter what happens, protect the elder Sword Saint.”
“Yes!”

The disciples answered in unison.
Nodding, the branch master started running toward the branch.

As time passed, the Beggars’ Union disciple’s steps grew steadier.
It was Drunken Heaven-and-Earth Step.
Even so, he couldn’t be faster than Gyo-ha.
Gyo-ha’s foot slammed into the running disciple’s back.
The disciple fell to the ground.

“Hoo.”

Gyo-ha took a short breath and set his stance.
Soon, the fallen disciple got up.
The disciple’s eyes darted around.
At that sight, the corner of Gyo-ha’s mouth lifted.

“Don’t worry. Grandpa Sword didn’t come.”

At those words, the disciple’s gaze turned to Gyo-ha.
His aura changed.
He judged it was better to deal with Gyo-ha and leave, rather than keep running.
The disciple launched himself at Gyo-ha.
Yokai Qi surged in both palms.

Jade Dragon Eight Palms.

Gyo-ha met him with his hands.

Red Blossom Palm.

Kwaang!
As the two palms collided, the air rippled.
Gyo-ha was pushed back.
He was overpowered.
A sharp tingling pain rose in his palm.
But it wasn’t unbearable. Gyo-ha swung his leg. A kick flew toward the disciple’s temple.
Kwaang!
The disciple’s head jerked.
His guess was right.
That thing’s ability was heavily influenced by its host.
It was different from when the host had been the unit leader.
And on top of that.
He dodged the hand reaching out and kicked the sword’s hilt.
It pulsed, and the wound split wider.
The disciple stepped back.

“Looks like you can’t use the sword anymore?”
[…]

It only glared at Gyo-ha and didn’t rush in.
If it pulled the sword from its chest and fought, the situation would change, but it wasn’t pulling it out.
It couldn’t.
The moment it pulled it out, the host would die. Knowing that, it couldn’t use the sword.
At Gyo-ha’s provocation, it just stared at him.
Then its body began to change.
Just like it had swallowed an arm, the sword and chest were fusing together.
And that wasn’t all.
Both hands and legs were turning like iron.
Gyo-ha didn’t just watch.
He ran in and threw a punch.
Kang.
With a metallic clang, the disciple was pushed back.
Gyo-ha drove into its body.

Descending Goose Fist, Revised.

Fists and elbows, shoulders and knees hammered its body.
A pure pummeling.
A loud metallic clanging rang without end.
After attacking like that, Gyo-ha stepped back.
Then he looked down at his hand.
A hand stained red.
Gyo-ha clicked his tongue. At some point, the recoil had started growing with every hit.
Its body’s form had already changed.
Sure enough.
The thing, turned steel-colored, staggered as it got up.

[Human. Humans… cannot… kill… me.]

It had shed its human shape now.
A monster molded from iron.

“Yeah. It really isn’t easy.”

Gyo-ha licked his lips.
Certainly.
If you weren’t a peak martial artist, even injuring it was difficult.
Was this the level of the legendary Unbreakable Vajra Body?
As it said, if you were an ordinary human, it would be hard to kill it.

“For an ordinary human, that is.”

Gyo-ha grinned fiercely.
At that moment, Gyo-ha’s presence changed.
Goooooooooo.
A force wrapped around Gyo-ha’s body.
It was Yokai Qi, the same as the Beggars’ Union disciple’s.

[You… bastard.]

The disciple’s face twisted. It couldn’t even be compared to Gyo-ha’s internal energy.
He drank the honey that was said to be a treasure even in the upper realm, and even devoured Mok-geum’s Yokai Qi, built up through long years of cultivation.

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t hide it on purpose.”

Until he fought, he didn’t know how to use it.
But he had a good teaching aid.
Every time it changed bodies, it handled Yokai Qi and internal energy. He etched each of its movements into his eyes.
And now.
From seeing how it was drawing power from its new body, he had gained enlightenment.
Of course, it didn’t produce only positive effects.
The same went for Gyo-ha.
His whole body tingled and stung.
The Mystic Qi accumulated in his body was repelling it. Pain that would make an ordinary human roll their eyes back.
But it was familiar to Gyo-ha.
It was similar to the pain he felt whenever his internal energy overflowed.
That was why he could smile in the pain.

“Now I get why Grandpa Medicine Immortal told me to hide it.”

If someone else saw it, it could cause misunderstandings.
It was that ominous.

“I’m still clumsy. But against you, who can’t use the sword, I can manage.”

Not just a teaching aid, it would be his practice partner too.
Wrapped in Yokai Qi, Gyo-ha hurled himself in.
Kwaang!
The impact, different from before, jolted the Beggars’ Union’ disciple’s body.
Its face twisted far more than before.
The force had truly carried through.
Naturally, there was backlash too.
His fist was splitting open.
But Gyo-ha didn’t care.
He threw another punch.
Kwaang! Kwagang!
It reached out, but every movement was read by Gyo-ha.
Even when they fought before, its sword strikes were terrifying.
But the movement itself wasn’t anything special.

[How… can… a human…]

Its voice rang in his ears.
He realized confusion was mixed into it.
It tried to run, belatedly.
But Gyo-ha didn’t let it go easily.
A crude method of simply wrapping himself in Yokai Qi and swinging.
Even the amount of Yokai Qi fluctuated. Because of that, Gyo-ha’s hands were getting wrecked too.
Even so, it worked.
The thing’s hard body was denting here and there.
And then.
Kwaang!
The thing’s sword shook from Gyo-ha’s punch.
A widening crack.
Gyo-ha’s body spun.
Whirling Lotus Kick.
Its body jolted, and the crack grew even larger.

[N-no…]

It tried to protect its chest. But with its arm bent, it couldn’t move properly.

“Yes.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes gleamed.
He threw his fist at the sword’s hilt.
Kkwaang!
Hit by the fist, the sword pierced through the chest and slammed into the ground.
Chiiiiiik.
The body shriveled as smoke rose.
It collapsed with a thud.
As if its consciousness had been severed, it didn’t even twitch.
Gyo-ha slumped to the ground while staring at the sword stuck in it.
It was an unexpectedly hollow fight.
He couldn’t tell if he should be happy or sad.
But the real problem was elsewhere.

“…How do I calm this down?”

The Yokai Qi boiling up inside.
It was turning his insides upside down.
Gyo-ha looked at the sword stuck in the ground.
He’d learned how to draw in Yokai Qi, but not how to put it back.
The internal energy he’d built was small, but it wasn’t taking it quietly.
Because of that, his insides were getting wrecked.

“Kuheok!”

He vomited blood.
It was more than what Namgung Jin-yeong had coughed up.
If he couldn’t calm it down like this, he might really die.
And besides.

‘I can’t let that thing go.’

The sword stuck in the ground.
He had to keep watch on it.
Gyo-ha struggled desperately to calm the Yokai Qi rampaging like a wild colt.
Perhaps his effort worked, because the Yokai Qi gradually quieted.
It wasn’t just ominous in aura, its temperament was filthy too.
It wasn’t something he could handle easily.
Thinking of that, a new question rose.

‘What exactly is the Mara Twenty-Four Forms?’

How could it control Yokai Qi like this?
It wasn’t Gyo-ha’s ability. It was the effect of Mara Twenty-Four Forms.
But Gyo-ha’s thoughts couldn’t continue.
Because his consciousness was growing hazy.
He tried to force himself to hold on, but it wasn’t easy.
Then a familiar scent stabbed at his nose.
When he lifted his head, he saw a shadow running toward him.
His vision was blurry, but he could tell by the scent.
It was Namgung Jin-yeong.
Thanks to that, he could relax.

“Heh… you’re… late.”

Gyo-ha grinned, then collapsed to the ground.