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‘I don’t understand.’

She had no idea why Mr. Shoot was suddenly acting like what he was doing right now.

She had no idea how she was supposed to react.

Most importantly, she was totally confused.

‘Learn it?’ If her mother had truly asked him to deliver the Purple Dawn Style’s cultivation method to her, why did he try to kill her?

‘Wait. Could it be that he wanted to give me some time to grasp the cultivation method?’

Mio shook her head.

She was jumping to conclusions in an effort to rationalize things positively.

‘Why am I hesitating when he just tried to kill me?’

She couldn’t understand. She truly couldn’t understand.

Mio gripped the booklet tightly and mustered the courage to speak.

“Shoo—”

“Kihihi.”

“Kih? Hihi.”

However, the oni interrupted her.

They stepped out of the trees one by one to bask in the moonlight.

Clank, clank, clank!

The jars hanging from their necks made loud noises as they collided with each other.

“Urk.” The phantom energy of the oni enveloped Mr. Shoot.

Mr. Shoot kept his eyes on the monsters because he couldn’t afford to look away.

“They’re strong,” he said.

“...Yes, they are powerful.” The oni had been able to take down a Common demon.

It was hard to tell how long Mr. Shoot would last against the oni.

“Thirty minutes,” said Mr. Shoot. “I promise to buy you thirty minutes.”

“But why…”

“Is that still important? The Tenmei Mio I know would have already made the right decision.”

“...” Mio went silent.

She knew that he was right, and she also didn’t have any other choice right now.

‘The oni will catch him soon.’

The Unique Realm would disappear upon his death, and Mio would have to face the Queen of Thorns.

‘I cannot possibly beat the oni as well…’ Mio had no idea what kind of amazing teachings the booklet contained, but… ‘I have nothing else to rely on but this…’

Mio bit her lip and swallowed the truth.

She retreated to try and grasp the cultivation method as soon as possible.

Mr. Shoot smiled faintly when he could no longer sense her.

‘You’ve always had a good heart, Sister.’

And that was why he had always loved and looked up to her. Her demeanor and speech were brusque, but she was a warm person who cared about others.

‘I pray that you will find something in that cultivation method.’

The cultivation method was created by the renowned swordmaster Tenmei Kaisei of ancient times. Honestly, Mr. Shoot wasn’t sure if the booklet would be useful because the information it contained was from an era without magic.

However, he still had to give it to her.

‘...I pray that your prophecy will come true.’

The seer of the Observatory Tower, Seo Mi-Rae, had told him as such.

- All right, then… It’s time to play.

Mr. Shoot grinned.

Japanese characters appeared on his helmet’s LED display.

The oni couldn’t read them, but they swarmed him like wasps.

***

Boom!

Mio whipped around upon hearing the loud explosion.

Mr. Shoot was currently fighting at least a dozen oni by himself.

“...” Mio couldn’t read him at all. She still didn’t understand his thoughts or feelings, but one thing was for sure—he had given her a vital opportunity.

‘I can’t waste this opportunity.’

Mio opened the booklet.

- It is not honor nor poise that a sword must have. It is the heart of a swordsman.[1]

The text was written in an elegant script, and Mio’s eyes shone upon reading the first sentence properly.

‘This is it.’

She finally understood why Mr. Shoot thought that the cultivation technique would make her stronger.

‘My forefather may have made it to the end of the road I am currently walking on.’

She had been seeking enlightenment while braving the battlefield, but what she had been looking for had been compressed into a sentence.

Mio excitedly flipped the page.

‘It’s a cultivation method.’

It used ki, which was now known as magic, to show her a new path. She flipped the pages frantically, but she froze. Her hand holding the booklet gripped it tightly.

‘Wait. This is…’

The more she read, the more familiar it became. Of course, it would be familiar. After all, it was just like her family’s core Blue Moon and Red Sun Styles.

“Oh.” In other words, the Blue Moon Style had always been old and worn rather than supreme. ‘Our clan put effort into honing the styles and their corresponding cultivation method when the Gates appeared.’

However, the Tenmei Family’s core styles and cultivation methods had become a suitable weapon against monsters only in recent years. Back when there were no Gates nor magic, the Tenmei Family’s core styles and cultivation methods were only being used to prevent diseases and stay healthy.

“...” Mio’s mind went blank. It was all because the cultivation method that Mr. Shoot had handed over to him didn’t contain anything better than what she already had on hand.

‘Was I chasing after nothing?’

She thought that it would give her some kind of breakthrough. After all, the booklet contained the cultivation method that the founder of her clan had left behind.

She thought that it would contain some great secrets.

Bang! Boom! Boom!

The explosions behind her were heartless.

‘I have to…’ She had to become stronger here if she wanted to defeat Valencia once she emerged from her Unique Realm. She had to do something because Mr. Shoot’s time was limited.

She flipped the page, and her eyes darkened.

‘No…’

- Once I finalized these two martial arts styles in my later years, I called them ‘form’ and ‘heart’.

He was likely referring to the Purple Dawn Sword’s skills and techniques as well as the Purple Dawn cultivation method.

- I do not doubt the perfectness of this cultivation method. I believe that is why they call me the Sword Master, undeserving the name may be.

Mio knew that it was possible for there to be such techniques even back in ancient times. After all, scholars were always debating the benefits and drawbacks of the ki that martial artists wield.

- However, I cannot quite say the same about the techniques that this book contains.

‘What?’

Mio’s eyes narrowed.

She had a feeling that she knew what the book was talking about.

-The good thing is that I have recorded these sword techniques, and I wish that my descendants learn them. I am confident that they will be useful regardless of the generation. However, the problem is that these skills are merely a product of my delusions.

The page wrinkled under her grip when she realized that she was right.

‘So those extraordinary martial arts moves… were they fake all this time?’

Mio felt a pang of pain in her heart, and she decided to close the book.

However, a sentence caught her eye.

- I wish to reach the sky with my sword.

Mio was unsure, but her heart as a swordsman ached upon reading those words.

Her eyes darted to the next sentence, enraptured.

- The clear sky, the cold moon, the lonely red sunset, and the birds that soar through the heavens.

- They stir my heart. I wish to channel them through my sword.

She was extremely familiar with those words.

The Tenmei Family’s core sword styles were called the Red Sun and Blue Moon.

- Like a fool, I could never tear my eyes away from the sky.

- Others will think that the sky is unchanging, but it is ever-changing to me.

- I did not want to miss a single form. I could not miss it. So I could never look away.

Mio started to understand him. He had loved the sky more than anyone else had ever had.

- I would look at the sky and swing my sword.

- I would swing my sword and look back at the sky.

- The flowers bloomed, the cicadas cried, the leaves turned red, and snow fell.

- The sun would rise, and the sun would set. The moon would rise, and the moon would set.

- Once my thick beard grew until it reached my stomach.

- They started calling me the Sword Master, and I could finally reach the sky with my sword.

Mio’s heart started to pound madly against her chest. She suddenly had the urge to start swinging her sword, but she forced it down and started reading as fast as she could.

- If there are one million swords in the world, I have no doubt that they will also possess one million hearts.

- It is not honor nor poise that a sword must have. It is the heart of a swordsman.

“Heart…”

She already knew that—no, she thought she knew that, but the truth was that she had been unaware of it.

- If a descendant of mine is reading this in despair, allow me to tell you this.

Letter by letter, the ancient words inspired and set Mio’s emotions ablaze.

- You must not follow in the footsteps of others. You must train with the intention of leaving your own mark.

- Never stop asking yourself what you wish for your sword to convey.

- Never stop asking yourself what kind of sword lies deep within your heart.

- And when you have become certain of your answer…

Was she imagining things? The words suddenly became dazzling for some reason.

-You will become a Grandmaster.

Mio’s ears started ringing.

She didn’t even notice that she had unsheathed her sword.

‘The sword… within my heart.’

Swish! Swish!

Her sword sliced the wind apart, and then she realized...

‘Chains. They are chains.’

There was a time when she didn’t think of it that way, but as she continued training in her family’s sword techniques and following their orders, the chains grew heavier and heavier.

Eventually, they started binding her freedom and her heart.

She asked herself, ‘Do I wish for my sword to be made out of chains?’

As soon as the question popped up in her head, she felt so repulsed by the idea that even she was surprised by her reaction.

‘No.’

She wanted something more liberating.

She didn’t want to swing such a suffocating sword.

‘More…’

She wanted something freer.

‘More…’

She wanted something that could reach greater heights.

‘More! More! More!’

If the founder of her family wanted to reach the sky, she yearned for something that would allow her to soar through that very sky without any chains binding her.

“...”

The sword grew lighter in her hand.

Woosh!

However, her swings had somehow become more powerful. She swung her sword as if she were possessed, and the chains within her heart started falling away, one after another.

Until what was inside was finally revealed…

“Ah.” She stopped and burst into a brilliant smile.

A windchime was hanging from the handle of the sword within her.

“...Wind.”

It could go anywhere it wanted, and it could reach greater heights.

‘I finally remember.’

She longed to be as free as the wind.

And upon realizing that, a blinding array of System messages appeared in front of her.

[Swordmaster (S) has evolved to High Swordmaster (EX).]

[Optimization (A) has evolved to Optimization (S).]

[Red Moon Style (A) and Blue Moon Style (A) have combined to form Sky Wanderer Style (S).]

[You have received the Title: Grandmaster.]

[You have received the Title: Sword Empress.]

“...”

Mio closed her eyes. She finally understood that the chains that once held her down were of her own making. Now that she was free, she and her sword could finally go anywhere they wanted to go in the world.

Mio placed the booklet on the ground and kowtowed to express her gratitude.

“I am the current family head, Tenmei Mio, and I give you my thanks.” She smiled brightly as she greeted her fellow genius from hundreds of years ago. “I will not forget what you’ve taught me, venerable ancestor.”

A cool breeze ruffled her hair as if her ancestor was replying to her.

1. The word for ‘honor’ is similar to ‘reputation’, so it doesn’t have the same implications that it does in English. ☜