Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 36. Simma Will Do Whatever It Takes
Dan Bulwi, savoring his lamb soup, murmured contentedly.
“Well now! I took them for mere stable hands, but they’re cooks too.”
Dan Yeop nodded, dipping his sesame flatbread into the lamb soup.
“The flatbread has a savory depth to it.”
“They say traveling with a merchant caravan spoils the palate—and it’s true. This is wonderful.”
Dan Bulwi praised the meal with a string of exclamations.
After finishing quickly, Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop exchanged a glance.
It was time to test the refined Haomun martial techniques.
Investigation Commander Baek Jingang turned to his lieutenant, Song Mu.
“Where are those two heading?”
“Looks like they’re going into the forest—probably just attending to personal matters.”
Baek Jingang’s appetite soured at once. He frowned.
“Keep a close watch just in case. If they cause trouble, it’ll be a headache.”
“Understood.”
By the time Song Mu turned to look again, the two disciples had vanished into the trees.
Once in the forest, Dan Yeop spoke to Dan Bulwi.
“The techniques I’ve refined all have the character ‘True’ prefixed to their original names. True Heaven-Earth Sword Technique, True Hundred-Flow Sword Technique, True Seven-Wound Sword Technique—that sort of thing.”
“Ho! A most meaningful choice of names.”
Dan Bulwi was pleased.
After all, it clearly declared the roots of these new arts in Haomun itself.
Presently, Dan Yeop unfolded the True Heaven-Earth Sword Technique, the True Hundred-Flow Sword Technique, and the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique in succession.
Dan Bulwi watched without blinking, absorbed in the new methods.
‘Ah! This is no longer Haomun martial arts!’
The Xuanwu Technique?
No—deeper than even the Jongnam Sect’s arts that he’d glimpsed once.
If he had to compare it, it resembled the O-ak Sword Sect.
In his younger years, he’d witnessed a Huashan Sect wanderer from Guangnei Province strike down a bandit.
That insurmountable wall he’d felt then—was now manifesting before his eyes.
To think Haomun’s techniques could transform into something like this!
Just how extraordinary was Dan Yeop’s talent?
With the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique complete, Dan Yeop withdrew from his stance.
“Well? Serviceable enough?”
“Serviceable? This could well be called an Ultimate Technique of the Martial World itself. Forgive my boldness, but could you teach me that martial art?”
Dan Bulwi wanted to elevate his own power.
Thinking of the perilous Baikyue Kingdom ahead, he had to.
“Of course. We’re not strangers, after all. I’ll teach you the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique right now.”
Dan Yeop had decided to start with the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique, since Dan Bulwi was a closed-off practitioner.
He then taught Dan Bulwi the first form, the Initial Wound Yin Void.
Dan Bulwi, already a master of the Seven-Wound Sword Technique, grasped the modified form without difficulty.
By the time their rest period ended, Dan Bulwi had managed to execute the first form of the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique.
By that evening, Dan Bulwi had learned through the third form.
The next morning.
Upon waking, Dan Yeop immediately sought out Dan Bulwi.
“Master, about that inner power training from yesterday—how did it go?”
“It took no time at all, so don’t worry. I’m quite reassured now.”
“I see.”
“And you said you couldn’t understand his martial prowess?”
“Yes, it’s difficult to grasp with the Six Gates arts alone.”
“He’s remolded the Six Gates techniques through sheer genius.”
“Remolded them?”
“Yes, I saw it yesterday, and it was extraordinary. Like witnessing the Ultimate Technique of the O-ak Sword Sect.”
“Is that why Simma’s martial prowess is so formidable?”
“I believe so. That’s why I’m learning the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique from him as well.”
“The True Seven-Wound Sword Technique?”
“I learned three forms in a single day yesterday. Before we reach Baikyue Kingdom, I intend to master the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique and the True Hundred-Flow Sword Technique.”
A subtle pressure to summon that other personality more often.
“Please teach me as well.”
“I shall. You’ll grasp it faster than I did—your body already remembers it. Come along.”
Dan Bulwi led Dan Yeop into the forest.
There was still about a Meal Watch—some thirty minutes—before breakfast was served.
Dan Bulwi taught Dan Yeop the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique, keeping it hidden from the inspectors’ eyes.
As expected!
Dan Yeop grasped the True Seven-Wound Sword Technique as readily as Dan Bulwi himself.
While Dan Yeop was absorbed in practicing the first form, a shout rang out calling them to eat.
Unable to refuse, Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop emerged from the forest and ambled slowly toward the serving area.
Song Mu, catching sight of them, remarked in passing.
“Your bond as master and student runs deep, I see. The way you’re always together, attending to every matter side by side.”
When Dan Bulwi offered no reply, Song Mu withdrew with an awkward expression.
Taking their portions, Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop began eating in a corner by themselves.
As the meal drew to a close, Dan Yeop broached the subject with a somewhat embarrassed look.
“Um, Master.”
“Yes?”
“Given the circumstances, shouldn’t we be training our Internal Energy more often?”
“I’m all for it. I can master True Internal Energy all the faster that way. And it’ll be better for you too—I need to grasp it first before I can teach you.”
“If I master True Internal Energy, will I reach something like Simma’s level?”
“Can’t say for certain, but you’ll definitely be stronger than now. You might even surpass the Sect Leaders themselves.”
At those words, Dan Yeop felt his throat tighten as he swallowed hard.
Stronger than the Sect Leaders by eighteen years old?
Suddenly, Baek Yuhwa came to mind.
When she saw him become a master, what expression would she wear?
Shortly after, the inspection caravan’s carriage began to move.
Dan Yeop’s expression as he gazed out the window seemed unsettled.
‘What am I?’
When he first experienced Demonic Possession, Simma was merely an illness to be cured.
But now both he and Dan Bulwi depended on Simma.
Simma handled everything with ease, yet he could not.
‘I’m the normal one, and Simma’s the aberration…’
Now the distinction between normal and aberrant held no meaning.
As his mind grew sharper, his thoughts multiplied.
Not long ago at Gosan Estate, when he’d told Seol Yeonhui that Simma was ‘my self that I wish to overcome,’ he had meant it sincerely.
‘But it seems like I’m the one who’ll be overcome…’
Voluntarily awakening Simma after barely a Double Hour of consciousness—only two hours—felt strangely surreal.
‘This time the span was too short to record anything in the White Record.’
Dan Yeop, muttering to himself, drew in a deep breath.
“Inhale… exhale—”
Releasing his breath, the Genius Dan Yeop awoke.
Dan Yeop surveyed the interior of the carriage, then turned his gaze out the window.
The sunlight was bright, but that alone made it difficult to judge the time.
‘Why did Dull-wit Dan Yeop wake me?’
It wasn’t a dire emergency, and there was nothing to do inside the carriage—he couldn’t fathom why he’d been roused.
For once, he decided to pass the time doing nothing at all.
After about half a Double Hour—an hour—with nothing happening, he grew drowsy.
As his head bobbed and swayed, a jolt of the carriage startled him awake with a gasp.
‘Huh!’
Upon regaining awareness, something struck him, and he froze in alarm.
‘Wait—I’m still here?’
Though he’d dozed off briefly, he remained in the carriage as before.
A strange sense of relief washed over him.
He had always lived with fierce intensity.
Whenever he fell asleep, he worried whether he would wake again.
Without Dull-wit Dan Yeop’s will, he could not emerge into the world.
That’s why the other called him Simma.
So the moment he realized he’d dozed off, his heart nearly stopped.
Had vast stretches of time vanished again?
But this small lapse seemed to fall within acceptable bounds.
Then the carriage began to gradually slow its pace.
It appeared they would stop to rest.
As the carriage halted, Dan Bulwi and the escort soldiers stirred from their sleep.
As if by agreement, all four stepped out into the open air.
People poured out of the other carriages as well.
The warriors who descended stretched their stiffened limbs or wandered aimlessly about the camp.
Dan Bulwi and Dan Yeop, who was loosening up lightly, spoke.
“Master, what happened to me earlier?”
“Hmm! Did that one use his inner power?”
“Yes, I woke about half a watch ago. I couldn’t do anything and thought I’d die of boredom.”
“I see, so he woke you in just one watch—two hours. Ah, I suspect it’s because of the True Internal Energy.”
“True Internal Energy?”
“I told him about the Seven-Wound Sword Technique. He wanted to learn it quickly and asked me to teach him as well.”
“Ah, so that’s why you called me out?”
“We have at most twenty days until we reach Baikyue Kingdom.”
“I understand. I’ll teach you the True Internal Energy whenever we have time.”
After that, Dan Yeop taught Dan Bulwi the Seven-Wound Sword Technique whenever time allowed.
Thanks to this, the next day Dan Bulwi was able to master the Seven-Wound Sword Technique completely.
From then on, my inner power training returned to a daily cycle.
That was because I too had to learn the Seven-Wound Sword Technique from Dan Bulwi.
Like water flowing from above to below, the Seven-Wound Sword Technique, the True Hundred-Flow Sword Technique, and the True Heaven-Earth Sword Technique passed through Dan Bulwi and reached me.
The day I mastered Haomun’s True Three Great Sword Techniques, the investigation party finally arrived at Baikyue Kingdom.
***
That night.
Commander Baek Jingang came looking for Dan Bulwi.
“The trading partner of Seol Gyeongmun and his delegation is in a village called Suyang in Hwaryeong Prefecture. We need to travel one more day from here.”
“Understood.”
“But does the great master Dan have any allied sects he knows in Namun City or Hwaryeong Prefecture?”
Namun City was the center of Baikyue Kingdom, and Hwaryeong Prefecture belonged to it.
“No.”
“I see. Then I shall continue to lead the investigation. Please tell me if you have any questions at any time.”
“Very well.”
Commander Baek Jingang bowed respectfully to the great master Dan with his hands clasped before him, then departed.
Dan Yeop spoke to Dan Bulwi.
“Everyone says our sect is thorough with information, but perhaps Baikyue Kingdom is too far away for us to know?”
“That can’t be. I said I had no contacts so I wouldn’t show all my cards to the other side.”
“Ah! Then you do know of allied sects?”
“I have no sworn alliances, but I’ve grasped the situation in Namun City to some degree. The foremost sect in Namun City is the Cheongran Sect, and the force controlling Hwaryeong Prefecture is Hwaryeong Valley. But I’ve heard that lately the Cheongran Sect has been causing trouble by expanding into Hwaryeong Prefecture.”
Haomun is fundamentally a place where information is bought and sold.
It knew most of the internal affairs of Baikyue Kingdom.
“Could Seol have gotten caught up in their conflict?”
“Hard to say. We’ll know once we head to Hwaryeong Prefecture tomorrow.”
“He couldn’t have been attacked by bandits?”
“The severed contact means no one abandoned their post. There’s no bandit gang in Namun City large enough to subdue a merchant delegation’s escort warriors.”
“I hope Seol is safe.”
“As do I.”
Dan Yeop, squatting beside the campfire, suddenly asked.
“If a fight breaks out, will I be able to fight well?”
“You’d better be, if you want to live.”
“Hah…….”
A heavy sigh escaped Dan Yeop’s lips.
He’d nearly fought the masked men who attacked Byeongma Headquarters in the past, but luck had kept him from his turn.
Nothing had happened so far, but there was no guarantee tomorrow would be the same.
Could he pull his own weight here?
Just thinking about fighting made his palms sweat already.
Then Dan Bulwi’s voice reached him.
“Yeop.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry so much. Besides, you have Simma to fill in for you, don’t you?”
Stung, Dan Yeop responded with a hint of defiance.
“But Simma hasn’t fought before either?”
“Simma will do whatever it takes to survive. Unlike you, every moment is urgent for him.”
“My life hasn’t been easy either.”
“That’s true, you’ve had your struggles. But at least you can sleep with a peaceful mind, can’t you? I’ve never once seen your Simma rest.”
Dan Yeop’s mouth went dry at those words, and he pressed his lips firmly shut.
They said old ginger grows pungent—and it seemed the old man saw everything while appearing to see nothing at all.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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