"Why me?"
"Because you're smarter and more charming than anyone else. You're cute and handsome, just the kind of child adults like."
Jin Cheon-hee cleared his throat awkwardly.
Gong Seon-young's voice lowered slightly.
"Sister, you see, she can't trust herself, so she can't trust others. People say she's tough, but in reality, she's more scared than anyone. A lone girl in the Gong Seon family who can't learn martial arts... It's hard to imagine the weight of those stares."
"..."
"In truth, she loves listening to stories of martial heroes. There was a time when she desperately wanted to become one. Of course, she's given up now."
She scratched her head and laughed sheepishly.
"I guess I was everything she wanted to be."
A Solar Body.
A rare constitution that occurs in one out of ten thousand people.
Born with strong yang energy, internal energy accumulates easily.
It's a good constitution for achieving the Dao, though it lacks the learning ability of the Heavenly Demon’s Heavenly Killing Star, and there's no madness.
Thus, the aura that emanates from the body is bright and heavy.
It's suitable for learning orthodox martial arts.
But that's not all.
The muscles and bones are far superior to ordinary people.
Even in the modern 21st-century society, there are sometimes such people.
Those with abnormally developed strength who can crush metal with their hands.
Or those with lung capacity several times that of normal people.
Jin Cheon-hee speculated that they might also be martial prodigies.
If she continues to grow for another 20 years, there will be few in the martial world who can withstand her single sword.
"Don't you want to become the head of the family, sister?"
"No."
She answered without a moment's hesitation.
When Jin Cheon-hee asked why, she shrugged her shoulders.
"I forget things easily and like things easily. In the martial world, nothing is as dangerous as the tea others offer. Not to mention escort missions. But I forgot about that. If it had been my sister in that position, it would have been different."
"Is that so?"
"Hahaha, even if I accumulate enough internal energy to expel the Mountain Poison, I'll probably still be me. Simple-minded, Gong Seon-young."
She unfastened the small sword from her waist.
It was a bit long to be called a dagger, yet too short to be a long sword.
When she drew the small sword, a jet-black blade was revealed.
The pine tree pattern of the Gong Seon family continued along the black blade.
It was a masterpiece made by a great craftsman at a glance.
"It's a small sword made of ten-thousand-year-old black iron. The craftsman couldn't make it longer because there wasn't enough material. But it's enough for you to use now."
"What?"
"Take it. I'll give it to you."
She sheathed the sword again and handed it to him.
Jin Cheon-hee knew what that sword was.
The Black Pine Cloud Sword.
A legendary sword that will never break.
But that wasn't all.
The terrifying thing about this sword is that the blade is dark and doesn't reflect light.
It's also suitable for covert actions.
This sword will eventually end up in the hands of the Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryun, and save his life several times.
Jin Cheon-hee shook his head.
"I can't accept it."
"I haven't repaid the favor of saving my life yet."
Jin Cheon-hee replied.
"The Gong Seon family has already repaid it."
"That's just the family's gratitude, not mine."
There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
Her clear and deep eyes looked at Jin Cheon-hee.
Watching her, Jin Cheon-hee unknowingly asked again.
"Is that your sense of justice, sister?"
"Justice? Yes, you could say that."
Martial Hero.
Since it's a fighting novel, of course, the character for martial (武) would be there, but what about justice (俠)?
Jin Cheon-hee thought.
Without justice, it would just end with finding the strongest person in a sword fight.
'That's right.
Yeo Ha-ryun couldn't hit a commoner like me in the end.'
Oppressing someone who hasn't learned martial arts goes against justice.
'This sister also wants to repay the favor with her sword.'
The family's gratitude is the family's gratitude, and her own gratitude is something she must resolve herself, which is her sense of justice.
Of course, justice is different from goodness.
Not all justice is good.
Justice exists even amidst revenge and intrigue.
It was truly a strange thing.
And it was also the reason Jin Cheon-hee liked martial hero stories.
She said, "The Black Pine Cloud Sword doesn't suit my swordsmanship anymore, and if it stays like this, I plan to return it to the main family. I'd be relieved if you could use it instead. If I can repay it like this, I think my heart will be at ease."
"... I'll accept it."
"That's a relief. If you didn't take it, I was thinking of leaving it at the Unryong Escort Agency and throwing a fit until you came to get it."
"Hahaha."
Surprisingly, it wasn't a joke.
Jin Cheon-hee accepted the sword.
'It's light.'
As a small sword, it couldn't be better.
Jin Cheon-hee said, "But with this, there's still change left, sister."
"Hmm?"
Yeo Ha-ryun has his sense of justice, and Gong Seon-young has hers.
'Then do I also have something called justice?'
The self who lived diligently on Earth until recently.
The self who has never experienced anything like the martial world.
Jin Cheon-hee said, "Can you show me how to use this small sword just once?"
It was a bold question to ask to see the opponent's sword technique.
However, Jin Cheon-hee was a child who had never learned martial arts.
In a way, it was something that could end with a little scolding.
Gong Seon-young said, "Of course! But just because you see it doesn't mean you can follow it... I think? It comes from long training."
"It's okay. I just want to see you swing the sword, sister."
At those words, Gong Seon-young's face blushed slightly.
'Cute...'
This is really unfair.
The two arrived at a deserted clearing.
Before drawing her sword, she ruffled Jin Cheon-hee's hair.
'Ugh, it's embarrassing.
I'm at an age where I shouldn't be acting so cute.'
Contrary to the feeling of wanting to bite her tongue and die, her rational mind turned the steering wheel 180 degrees.
"I don't know what you're saying, but if it makes you happy, I'm happy too."
"Cheon-hee, you cute thing."
After pulling Jin Cheon-hee's cheeks a few times, seemingly satisfied, she took the Black Pine Cloud Sword and moved to the center of the clearing.
She drew the small sword and slowly took a stance.
In a way, it was a very simple stance.
She just drew the sword with one hand and aimed it at the enemy.
And then, the sword that seemed like it would remain still forever began to move.
The sword, which had been winding like a pine tree, suddenly became invisible.
The Gong Seon family's sword emphasizes speed.
A human's neck only needs to be cut half an inch to die.
So the faster, the better, right?
There was someone who rose to become the best in the world with such a thought.
That was the founder of the Gong Seon family, Gong Seon-cheong-yeon.
Her sword began to cut through the wind, faster and faster.
Her sword energy created pine needles.
At that moment, Gong Seon-young's expression slightly frowned.
'Families that aim for fast swords usually use waves or wind as their symbol.
Why is it a pine tree? And why did the founder tell us to resemble a pine tree?'
It was a question not only she but many sword practitioners of the Gong Seon family had.
That's why the current sword style of the Gong Seon family changed.
They abandoned the pine tree.
However, traces of the pine tree still remained in every joint of the sword.
Because it was their root.
Was it progress? Or regression?
The Gong Seon family always held a position as a top family but never once discussed being the best sword in the world.
The changed sword style became both a cradle and a wall.
Jin Cheon-hee watched the sword path she created.
It was the first time in his life seeing a sword path created by a martial artist.
Of course, seeing it didn't give him any profound thoughts.
It just looked cool and amazing.
Her sword path ended.
An ordinary martial artist would have been amazed, but Jin Cheon-hee just watched it normally.
Because he knew nothing about martial arts.
It was natural since he hadn't learned anything.
'Wow, I can't take my eyes off it.
In novels, they often describe sword dances as beautiful, and seeing it in real life, it's definitely different.
But since I've never learned swordsmanship, I don't understand anything about the sword dance.'
Jin Cheon-hee muttered to himself.
'Still, I have to do what I have to do.
I wonder if it will have an effect? In novels, they often gain enlightenment from small conversations.
Well, I'll find out if I try.'
"So, how was it?"
Gong Seon-young asked, lowering the hand holding the sword to the ground.
Not a drop of sweat was shed.
Though she was young, she was still a genius who was called a master.
Watching her, Jin Cheon-hee smiled broadly.
"Pine trees are green all year round. And old pine trees that have grown for a long time don't break in storms. They stand rooted, swaying their branches as the wind blows."
'The ultimate of the Gong Seon family's swordsmanship.
It is the ultimate counter.'
The ultimate counter.
In modern terms, it would be the ultimate counterattack.
Every attack has its own line.
A straight attack would advance in a straight line, while a curved attack would advance with changes.
The first step is to grasp that line.
And the second step is to dig into the opponent's attack path and strike back.
This seems to be in line with the principle of "softness overcoming hardness."
However, the Gong Seon family's sword is different from that.
The Gong Seon family's sword technique aims to deliver the maximum counterattack with minimal force.
One had to know why the founder, who was the best in the world at the time, yielded a move each time.
It wasn't the concession of a strong person.
It was because it was the sword path that best matched the Gong Seon family's sword principle.
That's why it was a pine tree.
A sword technique that pursued speed but contained the contradiction of not moving much, the ultimate sword technique.
Of course, theoretically, that's the case, but Jin Cheon-hee also knew that achieving it wasn't easy.
That's why he was telling her.
'This is a passage that Gong Seon-hyeon realizes later when he revises the family's secret manual...
I wonder what Gong Seon-young, who is called the Flying Dragon of the Gong Seon family, will do? Gong Seon-hyeon realized it late and talked about the ultimate of the counter.'
"…!"
Gong Seon-young's eyes widened.
'Oh? Could it be?'
Strength left her hand.
And as the focus disappeared from her eyes, she began to move the sword again.
'Wow... amazing.
Is it really working?'
Her movements changed to resemble a pine tree swaying in the wind.
Pine needles began to form at the tip of her sword energy.
Then her sword began to slow down again.
However, the soft sword energy she created began to spread out in all directions.
The sword dance continued.
A pine tree, strong against heavy snow and typhoons, bloomed there.
Even though it was a pine tree without flashy flowers or beautiful changes, her sword began to form lines and cut through space.
Speed finally led to conclusion.
And the conclusion didn't end but continued to the beginning.
In a state of selflessness, Gong Seon-young thought.
'The Gong Seon family's sword principles were only written to be easily understood by future generations.'
She realized.
Her sword shouldn't have just pursued speed.
She should have known why it was speed.