Chapter 162: The End of Childhood (21)

Soyak began preparing to enter closed-door training.

It was not something she could simply rush into overnight.

First, she needed to find a suitable training cave—or inherit one.

That problem was resolved more easily than expected.

“Are you sure this is all right...?”

“After spending time in closed-door training, one ought to spend just as long outside consolidating what one gained.”

Eun Jeong had spent three years in closed-door training.

He gave Soyak the training cave he had discovered, sparing her the trouble of finding a new one.

Underground water flowed through it, keeping the humidity and cool temperature constant.

When Soyak visited the cave with Eun Jeong, she was somewhat surprised by how spacious it was.

More importantly, it contained a minimum of basic furniture.

“When did you prepare all of this...?”

“Making the body uncomfortable does not necessarily bring enlightenment any sooner.”

He had prepared everything himself.

The bookcase, the drawers, the chests, and even the bed had all belonged to him.

They were slightly too large for Soyak, but she preferred having the extra space.

“...Thank you very much.”

A disciple would ordinarily inherit their master’s training cave.

Even Eunsong, however, judged Eun Jeong’s to be better than his own.

It was a cave halfway down a sheer cliff, beyond the reach of ordinary footsteps or human hands.

He knew firsthand that its energy was clearer and its water colder.

“I will repay this kindness someday.”

“Repay me...?”

Eun Jeong quietly bent down.

Then he whispered in Soyak’s ear.

“I’ll accept the Sword Sovereign’s head as repayment.”

His voice was low and chilling.

From that single sliver of sound, Soyak understood that Master Eun Jeong also bore a grudge against the present martial world.

Namgung Ak claimed to be heaven.

He was a man qualified to make such a claim.

He had defeated the Heavenly Demon, reached a realm no different from the Heavenly Demon he had killed, and become a superhuman capable of cleaving clouds with a single sword.

But he was not truly heaven.

Even the parents of someone struck dead by lightning would curse the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Then how could a mere man—however superhuman, however overwhelmingly powerful—escape becoming the object of resentment?

“...Do you bear a grudge as well, Master Eun Jeong?”

“I’ll tell you when you return safely.”

Eun Jeong smiled.

The two of them left the training cave he had given her.

Eunsong would stock it with everything she needed.

Careful administrative work was his specialty.

More importantly, his young disciple was entering closed-door training for the first time in her life.

Eunsong would not feel at ease unless every preparation passed through his own hands.

“Brother Eunsong has always worried too much.”

“I know he has good reason to worry.”

The cliff stretched beneath them.

The two figures soared toward the narrow bridge above.

Their steps followed the profound principles of Lightness Arts, allowing them to tread even upon flower petals drifting through empty air.

It was a feat only those who had reached Transcendent Apex could perform.

“I am not particularly worried.”

“...You aren’t?”

“I have often seen people with the same look in their eyes as you. They never broke.”

Eun Jeong had spent a long time on his Roaming Pillar Journey.

He must have crushed countless Demonic Cult remnants along the way.

He would also have met many people trapped in hardship.

For someone his age, he possessed a respectable breadth of experience.

“More importantly, you are already a master standing at the very edge of Transcendent Apex, are you not?”

“...Yes.”

“A sealed space may be poison to the human mind, but how could it destroy the spirit of a martial artist who has reached Transcendent Apex? That is what I believe.”

Soyak gave a faint laugh.

It was nearly blind faith.

A person’s mind was not entirely unrelated to the strength they had cultivated, but...

Humans often transcended the limits of their species in power while their fragile hearts failed to follow.

Even Ak Jupae, the Flame-Saber Lord who had reached the Transformation Realm, had fallen for the Demonic Cult’s temptation.

Even so, Soyak had only one answer she could give.

She could only be grateful that he believed in her.

“...Thank you.”

“So, how many years are you expecting?”

*****

At the same time, Eunsong was busier than ever.

He had to prepare for his disciple’s first closed-door retreat while also readying himself for the long journey to the Gwak Family Residence.

His own travel preparations could be handled roughly. Anything else he needed could be obtained along the way.

All Eunsong cared about was ensuring that Soyak suffered no unnecessary discomfort inside the training cave.

“...Isn’t that candy?”

Cheonjeong had arrived and was peering into one of the chests Eunsong had packed.

Eunsong let out a deep sigh.

“Of course she won’t eat it while living on fasting pellets.”

“Then why put it in when you know that?”

“Do you have any idea how much a single hard candy can sustain a person’s spirit?”

Cheonjeong tilted his head.

It was not something he had ever experienced himself.

Eunsong knew.

Myeonggon had done the same for him.

Fasting pellets were supposed to be the rule inside a closed-door retreat.

Yet somehow, Myeonggon had understood how effective a single hard candy could be.

Myeonggon had learned it from Jeonggang.

Jeonggang had learned it from a survivor, and that survivor from another survivor before him.

It was a tradition that had been passed down for quite some time.

Just then, Soyak and Eun Jeong finished inspecting the training cave and arrived at Eunsong’s residence.

Eunsong gazed silently at Soyak for a moment before calling her over.

“Master, what is it...?”

Soyak looked puzzled, but her feet had already carried her closer.

Eunsong took a hard candy from inside his coat...

And placed it in Soyak’s palm.

“Isn’t this... candy?”

“There is a small jar full of them in the right-hand room of my hut. Take as many as you need.”

Soyak stared at the candy.

She might never need it.

Those who entered closed-door training were people who had already reached godlike heights in mortal flesh.

But the person entering this time was a fourteen-year-old girl.

Even ordinary adults took at least one piece of candy with them.

No matter how strong one’s heart was, being sealed alone with nothing but one’s thoughts would inevitably bring suffering.

“And another thing.”

“Yes?”

“No matter that the minimum is three years, and that you are not supposed to leave before completing all three...”

Eunsong crouched in front of Soyak.

Only then were their eyes at roughly the same height.

After another deep sigh, he spoke to her almost in a whisper.

“If it ever becomes too much, run out. Whenever you need to. Anytime.”

Soyak’s eyes widened.

Her own master was encouraging her to break the rules.

Of course, Mount Hua was not particularly lenient toward someone who fled a retreat claiming they were about to die.

But it would not force them to die either.

Was that not still better than allowing someone to break apart inside?

Even if it meant she could no longer take revenge on the Sword Sovereign.

No—even if it meant she never reached the Transformation Realm...

Eunsong did not want to be forced to grant his own disciple repose with his own hands.

This Demonic Cult crisis had already taken one of his Brothers.

He had lost one of his master’s senior Brothers as well, and one of his grandmaster’s fellow disciples had fallen from power.

“I will remember.”

“You must promise me.”

“...I promise.”

Only after Soyak said those words did Eunsong release a relieved breath and rise.

He was hardly dressed as usual.

He had two swords strapped across his back, along with a black gat and an outer coat.

Like Cheonjeong, Soyak, and Cheongu when they had left on their Roaming Pillar Journey, Eunsong had packed his traveling gear.

“...Are you leaving as well, Master?”

“I have to. If necessary, I’ll bring them here. If there is no other choice, I’ll have to silence them forever.”

Soyak was the child Eunsong had brought to Mount Hua to be protected and raised.

Her conspicuous exploits alone made it impossible for the Sword Sovereign not to take an interest in her.

If he searched far and wide, he would inevitably reach the Gwak Family Residence.

The Gwak patriarch was the sort of man who would gladly offer up his body and honor for any chance to cling to power.

Eunsong had never forgotten the things the man had said to him.

Had he not claimed that if she were raised for just a few more years, she would grow into a woman without equal as a bribe?

Eunsong quietly looked down at Soyak.

Even after reconsidering it, the man had not been wrong.

If she continued growing as she had, she would undoubtedly become a woman of exceptional beauty.

But that was hardly a proper reason to offer her to a Daoist of Mount Hua who walked the path of the Dao.

“When you say you may have to silence them forever...”

Soyak blinked.

Eunsong considered his answer for a moment, then spoke honestly.

“If necessary, I will.”

Soyak shook her head.

“Please avoid that if you can, Master.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to become that kind of person. Once word spreads that I have entered closed-door training, even the Namgung Household will be unable to do anything.”

The customs of the Nine Great Sects carried authority comparable to the rules of the Martial Alliance.

That was especially true when it came to sheltering and protecting their own disciples.

Moreover, the current Sect Leader was Jeongbeop.

He was not a man who bowed beneath the weight of power.

“...I should still go and investigate.”

Once he reached the area, he could learn what had become of the Gwak family.

That would also tell him whether the Namgung Household had already uncovered Soyak’s origins or remained unaware of them.

That was important information.

“Yes, Master. Have a safe journey.”

“...By the time I return, you will already be inside the training cave.”

Eunsong smiled bitterly.

Soyak shrugged.

“I’ll do my best to reach enlightenment early and come out quickly.”