Mara Twenty-Four Forms.

Once Yeom Hong had left as well, Gyo-ha headed for the Sect Leader’s room.

The three of them were seated with grave expressions.

As he looked at them and began to wonder whether he should really be here, the Putuo Sect Leader spoke.

“Young Master Gyo, since you came from outside, you must know the situation.”

“Ah, yes.”

At the sudden question, Gyo-ha nodded.

It would not be strange if war broke out at any moment.

At Gyo-ha’s words, their expressions grew even more serious.

“…If war breaks out, the Putuo Sect will be dragged in.”

“We are already all but dragged in as it is.”

It was the Sword Queen. She spoke in a cool tone.

“Those bandit bastards. Did you not say they belonged to a place called the Taeho Gang. Do you think they will sit quietly.”

“Ah.”

At the Sword Queen’s words, the Putuo Sect Leader and Yeon-gyeong widened their eyes.

“Even if we defeat them, it is still a problem.”

They belonged to the Evil Heaven Alliance. Grudges and debts there had no end.

At her words, the two women’s eyes trembled.

“Why…”

Yeon-gyeong spoke as if wronged, and her feelings were easy to understand.

The Putuo Sect had done nothing.

Yet before they knew it, they had stepped into a war.

“It is the wind that shakes the tree.”

The tree’s will had nothing to do with it.

Could the Putuo Sect stop them alone. The Putuo Sect also needed backing.

But because of that backing, the disciples might have to march onto the battlefield.

Yet.

“…So this too is something we cannot help.”

Human strength could not stop the tide of an era.

You either went with the current or defied it and created a new one.

But most were broken before they could do either.

“Yeon-gyeong. You know that our sect does not conduct dhuta practice.”

Dhuta practice.

It was a practice of discarding attachment to food, clothing, and shelter and casting off human clinging and delusion.

One had to leave the temple and live in accordance with twelve rules.

Not every monk did it, but any monk deep in cultivation passed through it at least once.

However, the Putuo Sect had a reason for not doing dhuta practice.

“Yes.”

Yeon-gyeong nodded.

It was because they were nuns.

In the past, the Putuo Sect had undertaken dhuta practice. Each time, the number of those who returned could be counted on one hand.

The world was too harsh for a nun to wander alone.

“But if you are to become the Sword Peak, you must undertake dhuta practice.”

Sword Peak. It was the Sword Queen’s position.

The sharp blade that guarded the Putuo Sect.

At the sudden words, Yeon-gyeong’s eyes went round.

“But it is different from ordinary dhuta practice.”

“Wait a moment, Master.”

Yeon-gyeong opened her mouth, but the Sword Queen simply went on.

“First. You must dwell not in some remote place of seclusion but among the secular world. You must not refuse the requests of common folk and you must not turn away from injustice.”

The place of seclusion.

It was the first rule of dhuta practice.

One turns from the world and lives deep in the mountains and such places.

But this was the opposite. It meant she was to involve herself deeply in the secular world.

“Of course, you must not accept offerings or satisfy selfish desires from the common folk you help.”

During dhuta practice, one was to live on alms.

You do not refuse the pleas of commoners, and you do not ignore injustice.

It was in accord with the will of the Thousand-Hands-and-Thousand-Eyes Avalokiteshvara whom the Putuo Sect served.

“Second. During your dhuta practice, you may reveal neither your own name nor your sect. You are only a single Buddhist believer.”

Yeon-gyeong’s eyes trembled.

“You must never return before three years have passed. Even if this sect burns, it is the same.”

“Master.”

It was not a simple dhuta practice.

‘…A path of killing.’

Through this incident, Yeon-gyeong had realized it. If she walked that path, she would see endless blood.

And that was its purpose as well.

“Go and look upon the world clearly. A blade that guards sentient beings must never be swayed by pity.”

The Sword Queen spoke with a firm face as she looked at Yeon-gyeong.

“The path you must walk is not that of a Buddha, but that of King Qinguang’s jailer.”

King Qinguang.

The king who ruled the Hell of the Mountain of Knives.

The beings who fell there had to walk ceaselessly upon blade edges.

Naturally, their bodies could only be torn to shreds.

And she was to be a jailer of such a hell.

“…Do we not have my martial aunts and sisters.”

“Their natures and aptitudes do not match.”

The Sword Queen replied coolly.

Yeon-gyeong’s skill had already surpassed even the martial aunts.

Their talent was different.

“Your martial aunts and sisters are of the same mind as I am.”

Yeon-gyeong’s gaze turned to the Putuo Sect Leader beside her.

She only kept her eyes closed.

The matter had already been decided before this incident.

“And from now on, the other sword disciples will also involve themselves with the secular world. It will not be dhuta practice like yours. It will be a discipline to save those who suffer at the hands of evildoers.”

It was closer to a chivalrous mission than simple ascetic practice.

They would not go alone.

This was something the Putuo Sect Leader and the Sword Queen had decided regardless of the Murim Alliance.

The world was changing.

They could no longer grow like flowers in a greenhouse.

They had to know the secular world.

“At dawn tomorrow, a boat will come to fetch Young Master Gyo. Leave together with him then.”

Yeon-gyeong’s brows quivered. She had not thought they would tell her to leave so soon.

Yet Yeon-gyeong’s answer was already decided.

“…Disciple Yeon-gyeong will obey the order of the sect.”

Pressing her palms together, Yeon-gyeong bowed deeply.

With that, Yeon-gyeong left the Sect Leader’s room.

Suddenly left alone with only the Putuo Sect Leader and the Sword Queen, Gyo-ha could only roll his eyes, unsure what he should do.

Should I have left with her too?

At that moment, the Putuo Sect Leader spoke to Gyo-ha.

“Young Master Gyo. Once again, we thank you for your help.”

The Putuo Sect Leader and the Sword Queen bowed at the same time.

“Ah, please, do not.”

Flustered, Gyo-ha bowed along with them.

“As you can see, our sect has no proper wealth.”

“It is all right.”

Gyo-ha scratched his head with an awkward smile. He had not done any of this in hopes of such things.

“However, fortunately, there is something in our sect that Young Master Gyo also needs.”

“No. It really is fine.”

Gyo-ha waved his hands.

“No. This is something our sect truly wishes to pass on to you. For the sake of the future as well.”

At the Sect Leader’s words, Gyo-ha blinked.

What could they be giving him that sounded so grand?

Instead of answering, the Sect Leader looked to the Sword Queen.

Receiving the Sect Leader’s gaze, the Sword Queen spoke.

“The fist art you practice. It seems to be a martial art altered to suit you. Is that correct?”

Gyo-ha nodded.

“My master made it for me. Is there a problem?”

At that, the Sword Queen shook her head.

“Young Master’s master is clearly on a level this old one cannot even fathom. Yet the root is not something that can easily be changed.”

Gyo-ha blinked. He had heard the same from his master.

“Fortunately, one martial art has been passed down in our sect. It is hardly right to even call it a martial art. It is closer to a martial scripture.”

A martial scripture.

At the unfamiliar term, Gyo-ha’s head tilted on its own.

“The Mara Twenty-Four Forms. Several have now been lost, so it is more accurate to call it the Seventeen Forms.”

The Sword Queen let out a breath, then spoke.

“We do not know from when it has been passed down. It has been here since the time this place was called Putuo Hermitage rather than the Putuo Sect. It is the movements of beasts…”

The Sword Queen hesitated for a moment, then corrected herself.

“It is a set of movements modeled after strange, other-shaped existences. It does not contain the root and the mind that form the basis of a martial art.”

It depicted only the movements.

In other words, a body movement method.

“…Is it really all right to give away something like that?”

Gyo-ha asked in puzzlement. He also knew how precious martial arts were.

On top of that, from the Sword Queen’s explanation, it was no ordinary art.

“An ordinary person could not even learn it. There is no use in our sect holding on to it. I had always thought it was a martial art that humans could not learn in the first place…”

A martial art created by someone who knew nothing of martial arts, based only on imagination.

Now her thinking had changed.

Because she had seen Gyo-ha. Movements that did not seem human.

If it was Gyo-ha, he might be able to imitate that art.

“…I believe it is surely fate that Young Master Gyo came to this island.”

The Putuo Sect Leader beside her nodded as well.

With both of them saying so, Gyo-ha could not refuse.

At that moment, a smile rose to the Sword Queen’s lips.

A mischievous smile unfitting her age.

“Of course, it is not something I can give you just because I feel like it.”

“Pardon?”

And soon, Gyo-ha understood what she meant.

The place the Sword Queen brought Gyo-ha to was a cave on one side of the island.

Puzzled, Gyo-ha followed after her.

Dark walls.

It was so pitch-black inside that even his steps became cautious.

Once they were inside, the Sword Queen lit the lantern she had brought.

The cave brightened.

As the scene slowly revealed itself, Gyo-ha caught his breath.

The cave walls were covered in drawings.

Elaborate depictions of human movements.

“This is…”

“This is the Mara Twenty-Four Forms.”

The Sword Queen stated it calmly.

As if entranced, Gyo-ha walked up to the wall.

The movements did not stand alone. There was an opponent as well.

However.

‘It was erased.’

It had not faded naturally. It had been scraped away with stone.

He brushed the scraped places and moved his gaze along.

Some movements had vanished over time as the rock formations changed.

But there were also traces of them being forcibly erased, just like the opponents.

A feeling of regret welled up in him.

Gyo-ha walked back toward the front of the cave.

Holding the lantern, the Sword Queen silently followed behind him.

Standing before the first movement, something entered Gyo-ha’s eyes.

It was not the movement.

It was another kind of flow.

Gyo-ha’s eyes began to shine blue.

At the same time, red lights rose on the wall.

The whole cave was dyed red.

Gyo-ha watched the sight blankly.

When he came to his senses, Gyo-ha felt his mouth was dry and sticky.

There was no strength left in his body.

His body was damp. Looking down, he saw he had sweated a whole bucket’s worth.

‘What on earth…’

Beside him, the lantern the Sword Queen held was also slowly about to go out.

“…How long was I like that?”

“About four hours. It seems you gained something.”

Four hours. At the unexpected length of time, Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.

“I, I am sorry.”

“No. Realization is originally such a thing. I am glad it seems to have helped you.”

The Sword Queen smiled gently.

At that sight, Gyo-ha recalled what he had just seen.

“Did you also see the red light, grannie?”

At Gyo-ha’s question, the Sword Queen’s eyes widened.

“No. Could you perhaps tell me what you saw?”

“Hm…”

With a troubled expression, Gyo-ha looked at the wall again.

What had he seen? Even now, looking again, he did not feel the same as when he first saw it.

Yet he could read the meaning of the movements that covered the wall.

“…This is not a martial art.”

“Yes. There is no record of inner insight or the circulation of acupoints.”

Without those, it was only half a martial art.

Gyo-ha shook his head.

That was not what he meant.

“…It is a record of hunting.”

He looked at the erased places. What had been drawn there must have been what was hunted.

But even that was only half.

The red light Gyo-ha had seen.

It had been a single flow.

It was not internal energy. It was something more alien.

When that came together…

‘A hunting method.’

Gyo-ha said so inwardly.

Gyo-ha could not fully understand it either.

Naturally, he could not hope to make the Sword Queen understand.

A low groan slipped from Gyo-ha’s lips.

Seeing him like that, the Sword Queen smiled.

“It seems the karma of this place truly has reached you. If you wish to see more, I will bring more lanterns.”

The lantern she had brought was slowly going out.

But Gyo-ha shook his head.

It was the same even if he looked again. Even now he stared, but the red light did not appear.

He tried to trace back his memory, but nothing came to him.

It was regrettable, but there was nothing he could do.

“Let us go back.”

At Gyo-ha’s words, the Sword Queen nodded.