Chapter 3-8

-Whoosh!

As Bai Shixuan swung the Black Saber in his hands, Dan Yeryeong lightly redirected his attack. Then, using the small tree branch she held, she immediately counterattacked Bai Shixuan.

‘Kgh!’

It was not even a particularly long branch, barely about the length of her arm, yet Bai Shixuan felt as though Dan Yeryeong’s branch were wrapping around his saber like a whip as it attacked him.

Thinking he could not block Dan Yeryeong’s attack, Bai Shixuan retreated and tried to evade it, but Dan Yeryeong quickly followed and stabbed his right shoulder with the branch.

“Kgh!”

It was only a tree branch striking his shoulder, yet Bai Shixuan’s face twisted badly. Despite being an attack performed with nothing more than a branch, a powerful impact spread through his shoulder. Thinking it would be difficult to move his right arm, Bai Shixuan hurriedly shifted the saber into his left hand and looked at Dan Yeryeong. Although it was a perfect opportunity, Dan Yeryeong did not attack him and merely watched what he would do.

“What is it? Are you tired already?”

“No. Then I’m coming again.”

At Dan Yeryeong’s words, Bai Shixuan bit down hard on his lower lip and used the Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Steps. Because he had not yet mastered the Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Steps to the same degree as Jin Yuha, Bai Shixuan’s body stretched into a long blur as he shot toward Dan Yeryeong at high speed.

‘The qi of the Black Tortoise.’

Borrowing the qi of the Vermilion Bird or White Tiger to make his saber sharper or faster was completely useless against Dan Yeryeong. If so, then he had to make the saber heavier so that she could not redirect his attack.

-Thud!

Dan Yeryeong blocked Bai Shixuan’s saber instead of redirecting it. It was the first time this had happened in one year and seven months since they began sparring. Until now, even when Bai Shixuan borrowed the Black Tortoise’s qi to make his attacks heavier, his Four Divine Beasts Martial Art had still been too unrefined, allowing Dan Yeryeong to redirect his attacks with ease. But as Bai Shixuan’s martial arts improved by leaps and bounds through sparring, she had finally become unable to redirect an attack empowered by the Black Tortoise’s qi.

‘It worked!’

Now she would not be able to counterattack recklessly either. Just as Bai Shixuan moved to launch another attack with that thought in mind, Dan Yeryeong’s branch—which had not broken even after blocking the Black Saber empowered by the Black Tortoise’s qi—moved. In an instant, Dan Yeryeong’s branch seemed to multiply into several and stabbed toward Bai Shixuan’s body.

‘Damn it!’

He had miscalculated. Because Dan Yeryeong had always redirected Bai Shixuan’s attacks and then counterattacked until now, Bai Shixuan had assumed that after she blocked an attack, he would have plenty of time before her counterattack came. He could not help being startled.

“What a shame.”

“Phew.”

When Dan Yeryeong spoke with a smile, Bai Shixuan let out a sigh. The fact that Dan Yeryeong had blocked his attack rather than redirecting it could certainly be considered a major achievement, but even so, he felt a little embarrassed that he had not managed to land even a single proper attack. At first, he had been able to accept it because he had only recently begun learning martial arts. But now that more than three years had passed since he started training, he was beginning to feel ashamed that he still could not attack her properly.

“You’ve improved a great deal.”

Perhaps she understood what Bai Shixuan was feeling, because Dan Yeryeong looked at him and smiled gently. Bai Shixuan could tell that her smile was neither false nor forced.

“Let’s stop here for today. Don’t perform Qi Circulation. If your Internal Energy fills back up, you’ll only suffer again tomorrow.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

After wiping the sweat from his forehead, Bai Shixuan bowed his head to Dan Yeryeong and then dropped down onto the ground. He had sparred with Dan Yeryeong and Jin Yuha without rest for two days and had used up half of his Internal Energy. And that was despite using it continuously without trying to conserve it. If he circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art again here, his Internal Energy would immediately fill back up. If that happened, all the sparring he had done with Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong until now would have been for nothing.

‘But it really is an incredible martial art.’

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Bai Shixuan, who had once known nothing about martial arts, had become this strong in only three years. Jin Yuha did not show it outwardly, but Dan Yeryeong always told Bai Shixuan that his progress was extraordinarily fast. After reaching the sixth stage, his demonic qi concealed itself automatically, and he could circulate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without sitting in the lotus position—in fact, he could even circulate it while walking. Jin Yuha had told him that once he reached the eighth stage, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art would circulate automatically even without conscious effort—even while he was asleep.

‘To think I have to avoid circulating it…….’

He had always known that Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong were powerful masters, but the more martial arts he learned, the less human the two of them seemed. So even if he failed to land a proper attack during sparring, that was still less difficult than being forbidden from circulating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art afterward. Over more than three years, circulating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had become a habit, and there were many occasions when Bai Shixuan unconsciously began circulating it out of sheer habit. Because of that, he always had to pay attention to make sure he did not accidentally circulate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

“This will be over soon too.”

Bai Shixuan looked at Dan Yeryeong as she approached and spoke beside him while he rested. Dan Yeryeong smiled at him and continued.

“Mother, how strong have I become?”

“Hmm. At the very least, I doubt there is anyone your age who could match you.”

Bai Shixuan asked Dan Yeryeong as she came closer, and she answered with a smile. Bai Shixuan had always had only Dan Yeryeong and Jin Yuha beside him. Ever since he started learning martial arts, those two were the only people he had seen. When he discovered that Xuelan and Jiang Taimu could use martial arts, he himself had possessed none, so it was not easy to compare himself to them. And trying to compare himself with Dan Yeryeong or Jin Yuha was impossible because they were simply too strong.

“Um, Mother. Compared to the man from when you rescued me, how am I now?”

Bai Shixuan asked Dan Yeryeong.

“Hmm, that man? You’re at the seventh stage now, so if my memory is correct, comparing your current level to his level back then, you would win. Very easily, at that.”

Bai Shixuan’s face brightened at Dan Yeryeong’s words. He had become stronger than Jiang Taimu. Although he had not been learning martial arts for very long, becoming stronger than the Jiang Taimu who had once seemed overwhelmingly powerful showed just how extraordinary the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and Four Divine Beasts Martial Art truly were. However, Dan Yeryeong had specifically said “him back then.” He might have become stronger since that time.

‘Even so, this child would still defeat him easily…….’

She decided there was no need to say that. Praising him too much might cause arrogance to take root. Dan Yeryeong was wary of that. She looked at Bai Shixuan, who was happily sitting beside her, and spoke with a smile.

“Once you reach the eighth stage, there will be no need to force yourself to spar anymore. Even if you entered the world now, you would be more than capable of making a name for yourself under heaven. But I would rather you go out only after becoming strong enough that you won’t be hurt.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Although he was not her biological son, Dan Yeryeong treated Bai Shixuan as though he truly were her own child. Bai Shixuan understood her feelings well. Moreover, for Bai Shixuan, who had gained parents for the first time in his life, he wanted to be a good son to the two of them. He did not want to disappoint them.

“We left the Murim far too long ago, so we no longer know what the current situation is like. That is why I worry that if I let you leave in your current state, you might suffer a serious injury. I cannot bring myself to send you away yet.”

At Dan Yeryeong’s words, Bai Shixuan silently nodded. How could he fail to understand her feelings?

“More importantly, Mother, you really are amazing. I think you might be stronger than Master.”

That was his genuine impression. Of course, neither of them used their full strength, and Bai Shixuan had no idea how much power each of them was actually using, but Dan Yeryeong seemed more skilled at sparring than Jin Yuha. That was Bai Shixuan’s sincere impression.

“Hoho. He’ll get angry if he hears you say that. Won’t you?”

Dan Yeryeong spoke with a laugh, and before Bai Shixuan knew it, Jin Yuha was standing beside him. Seeing Jin Yuha silently looking down at him with an expressionless face, Bai Shixuan broke out in a cold sweat. Had he offended him? As Bai Shixuan nervously watched Jin Yuha’s expression, Jin Yuha placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘I’m in trouble.’

As Bai Shixuan stared tensely at Jin Yuha’s expressionless face looking down at him, Jin Yuha opened his mouth.