NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 128
128. One Sword Play
“Senior Brother. Then I will go take a bath now.”
“Okay.”
As I returned to the inn, Seoharin let go of my arm and bowed her head respectfully.
I nodded at her words.
After Seoharin disappeared, I first looked for Senior Brother.
“Senior Brother. I have something to discuss. May I come in?”
When I sounded out from in front of the Senior Brother’s room, I heard a response from beyond the door.
“Sure. Disciple. Come in.”
“Then I will enter.”
Creek.
I opened the sliding door and stepped into the Senior Brother’s room. The moonlight shone through the bars as night had fallen. The lantern flickered. Beyond the darkness, I could see the Senior Brother’s pale face. The scent of wildflowers brushed against my nose.
Thud.
The door closed.
The Senior Brother sat in a chair. No matter when I see her, her face is prettier than any woman.
She looked more beautiful than the future number one beauty, Seoharin.
‘…Perfect for crossdressing.’
As I thought that while gazing at the Senior Brother’s face, her face flushed when our eyes met.
“…Wh-what is it, Disciple? If it’s about the Primordial Unity Energy Technique, I’m currently restoring it…”
I saw the old Primordial Unity Energy Technique’s secret manual and brush pens scattered on the table.
“…If we use the formula of the Primordial Technique, we should be able to restore it soon.”
The Senior Brother avoided my gaze and mumbled. Primordial Technique.
In my past life, there was no martial art created by the Senior Brother similar to the Primordial Technique. Therefore, restoring the Primordial Unity Energy Technique took a long time. But unlike the past life, it seemed the restoration would speed up now that I met Jincheongyeomwang and created the Primordial Technique.
It was indeed important, but it wasn’t the matter to discuss right now.
“Senior Brother.”
“Uh, yes?!”
When I called, the Senior Brother looked at me with a flushed face.
So cute.
Am I going crazy for thinking a man is cute?
I must keep it together. I thought to myself and spoke to the Senior Brother.
“One Sword Play, that’s you, right?”
The Senior Brother’s face flushed when she heard my words. Her pupils quivered.
*
Hearing the Disciple’s words made Yujinhwi’s eyes tremble.
One Sword Play.
It was the secret identity she had created to live as a woman since she had decided to live her whole life as a man.
Yujinhwi, who had vowed to live as a man, began to waver recently since developing feelings for her precious disciple, Lee Cheol-soo. The one she wished to protect at all costs—her last ally even if the world turned against them.
After realizing that, Yujinhwi began to feel a desire to act as a woman. One Sword Play was the result of that desire. Officially, it was a guise created to take on responsibilities that Yujinhwi, a disciple of the Gongdong Sect, couldn’t, but in reality, it was more.
So she couldn’t help but be flustered.
The moment her disciple, Lee Cheol-soo, pointed out that One Sword Play and she were the same person, it felt like her hidden secret, her true gender, was exposed.
‘W-what should I do…?’
Yujinhwi’s eyes spun around. She could feel the indifferent gaze of her disciple. A gaze as usual.
But Yujinhwi knew. The disciple wasn’t the type to lie. If he said so, he must have a solid reason behind it.
So there was no use in trying to make excuses.
And above all, she didn’t want to lie to her disciple anymore. Just pretending about her gender… was enough.
Or maybe… she secretly wished he would understand that she was a woman…
‘No… that’s…’
Yujinhwi denied herself. Her heart raced.
She slowly nodded.
“…Uh, yes… That’s right. The disguise you advised me to create, One Sword Play… You don’t think it’s strange, right?”
Her face flushed as she bowed her head.
She felt embarrassed. She couldn’t lift her head. The disciple thought of her as a man. Yet, no matter how much it was a disguise, a man dressing as a woman to act as a master martial artist was too shameful to even mention.
‘W-what if the disciple thinks weirdly of me…?’
Yujinhwi squeezed her eyes shut. Even in everyday life, her thoughts moved at an accelerated pace, making time feel longer than others. Countless thoughts rushed through her mind as she waited for the disciple’s response.
Just then, while Yujinhwi was trembling…
Grab.
Someone’s hand touched hers. It was Lee Cheol-soo.
“I figured it out. Senior Brother. I’m relieved. Let’s cut to the chase and get to the point.”
Yujinhwi’s eyes widened. Her gaze turned to Lee Cheol-soo.
Among her perfect memories, the face of her beloved disciple remained vividly.
Thump.
Yujinhwi’s heart raced. Her face turned red.
He said.
“…We need One Sword Play.”
“Uh, what?!”
At the disciple’s words, Yujinhwi unintentionally responded.
“…I received a submission from the heir of the Moryong Clan. I was invited to a gathering called the Cheongdam Meeting. However, there was a condition to attend. I must bring a stunning beauty with me to enter.”
Stunning beauty.
Yujinhwi rolled the term around in her mouth.
“The Cheongdam Meeting. It’s obviously a suspicious gathering. But now that I’ve been invited, it wouldn’t be polite to decline. But bringing a disciple to such a dubious meeting is… unacceptable. It wouldn’t do to bring along the outsider Seomun So-ja or the senior Than either. So I had no choice but to request your help, Senior Brother. Of course, I know it’s not easy to disguise as a woman, but I had no one else to ask.”
Hearing the disciple’s words, Yujinhwi’s mind went blank.
Her rational side told her to refuse the disciple’s suggestion. She had vowed to live as a man until she became the world’s number one. She shouldn’t waver now.
But her emotions were different.
She wanted to be a woman in front of the man she fantasized about. She wanted to be by his side. To be together with him…
Even if it were a false identity… she wanted to be seen as a woman by him.
Yujinhwi bit her lip. Lee Cheol-soo waited for her response.
“…If it’s the disciple’s request… I’ll do it.”
In the clash between reason and emotion, her emotions emerged victorious.
I’ll do it.
The moment she let those words slip, Yujinhwi’s face turned bright red. Her heart raced painfully.
She could stay by the disciple’s side as a woman. The fact paralyzed her rational thoughts.
“Great. The banquet will be held right after the Yongbong Jiyeon ends. So, from the Yongbong Jiyeon that will take place tomorrow, Senior Brother will have to accompany me as One Sword Play.”
“…Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you for accommodating my unreasonable request. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Sure. See you tomorrow!”
Creek.
After the conversation ended, the disciple politely bowed and left the room.
Thud. Even after the door closed, Yujinhwi sat there for a while, dazed. Her gaze wandered through the air.
‘Tomorrow, just the two of us… H-having the banquet together…’
Her heart continued to race. Her face flushed bright red. Yujinhwi jumped up.
Rustle.
A bandage fell from her feet. Along with it, her bosom expanded. The beautiful woman’s figure she had hidden until now revealed itself. Her face felt burning hot. Her body trembled.
Finally, she could be by the disciple’s side as a woman.
A smile curled on Yujinhwi’s lips.
That day, Yujinhwi couldn’t sleep all night.
*
Back in my room, I expanded my senses to check the surroundings. There shouldn’t be any madmen from the Orthodox Faction causing trouble at the Shaolin Temple, but one can never be certain.
‘Luckily, there’s no one.’
After exploring the area for some time, I concluded no one was present and took out the elixir from my pocket.
Click.
As I opened the elixir, the hot yang energy tingled against my skin.
‘Just look at this gem of a vitality elixir.’
The pink-shimmering ultimate vitality elixir, the Everlasting Flower’s Inner Pill, was before me.
Now that all my chores were done, there was no need to hesitate.
Time to eat.
I simply popped the Inner Pill into my mouth. Gulp. As soon as the pill touched my tongue, it melted like snow falling into my throat. Soon after, a burning sensation filled my whole body.
If I had eaten this kind of Inner Pill back when I was a low-tier person, I might have burned to death, but now I have reached the extraordinary level of a master.
What is the extraordinary level? It’s the realm of the head of the Gu File Gang, the leader of the Six Great Clans—someone who could claim to be the best in a province.
To put it in modern terms, if the peak level is a level 5 bureaucrat, then the extraordinary level would equate to a high-ranking civil service grade, reaching the level of a deputy director.
That’s right. Now, I have confidently reached the level of a deputy director.
Physically at the extraordinary level, mentally at the level of purification, controlling the ultimate yang energy of the Everlasting Flower’s Inner Pill was easier than eating a piece of cake.
I closed my eyes and utilized the Minor Yang Heart Method.
Whoosh.
The miraculous art of the Minor Yang Heart Method restrained the wild ultimate yang energy that was rampaging through my body. Normally, I would direct it to my dantian, fully converting its effects into inner strength, but…
‘Converting the effects into inner strength would just be a waste!’
It was a precious ultimate vitality elixir. Converting it to inner strength would be the biggest loss.
I had to convert it to vitality instead. And to transform the ultimate yang energy into vitality…
‘I need to spread the energy through my entire body and absorb the ultimate yang energy through my muscles and bones!’
I had to distribute it through my entire body’s meridians and bones instead of just the dantian.
Heh heh heh heh heh.
I laughed internally like a grown man as I spread the energy through my body. As the ultimate yang energy permeated my bones and meridians, my entire body burned like a fireball. A burning pain swept through me.
It hurt. It was excruciatingly painful. My entire body was engulfed in a pain that felt like it was literally burning.
But I grit my teeth and endured it.
To truly become a grown man, a king of vitality, an alpha male, I had to persevere. So I forced the ultimate yang energy into my entire body until it was no longer possible.
As the tormenting time passed and the ultimate yang energy was absorbed into my body, I then directed the remaining ultimate yang energy to my dantian, turning it into inner strength.
Whoosh.
The dantian trembled as it received the inner strength. With this, I accumulated about thirty years of cultivation. Shine.
Including the inner strength I already had, there was a total of about 45 years of inner cultivation resting in my dantian.
I opened my eyes.
Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…
A growler’s laughter escaped my lips. My whole body felt like a burning ember.
I took out my mirror, which I carried with me, and reflected it against my body. With the yang energy absorbed into my muscles, my shoulders were broad like a grown man, and my physiques looked sturdy yet well-defined.
And most importantly, vitality.
I could feel the fiery yang energy pooling in my lower body. Stiff!
Naturally, a pillar of fire shot up towards the sky.
I instinctively noticed the change in my lower body. The size remained the same. However, the Everlasting Flower’s energy granted me an everlasting erectness and a hardness equivalent to that of tempered steel.
“I can do it all day long!”
I felt like a super soldier from a superhero movie.
The ultimate vitality.
I felt like I was one step closer to absolute vitality, able to withstand endless encounters with ten beauties during the Yongbong Jiyeon over a week.
With a content smile on my face due to the surging yang energy and vitality overflowing my body, I lay down to sleep, anticipating the Yongbong Jiyeon the next day.
Heh heh. I’m done for.
*
The next morning.
I woke up early, devoured a simple vegetarian meal, then greeted Seoharin and the quack before leaving the Shaolin Temple with Seomun Cheong-ha.
Today was the day of the Yongbong Jiyeon, the exclusive banquet held the day before the Yongbong Society meeting.
Only I and Seomun Cheong-ha, the golden child of the Seomun Clan, received the invitation. Only one companion was allowed, and I had already chosen Senior Brother, no, One Sword Play as my companion.
“Hmm. I heard you’re sparring with Ok Girin today. Don’t make a fool of yourself and lose, okay?! You got that?!”
“Okay.”
Seomun Cheong-ha, who was next to me, nagged me. I nodded at her words.
A spar with Ok Girin.
Yeah, I had promised that. It was a decent spar, twisted because of So Geom-hu, but not bad at all.
Ok Girin Namgung Cheong.
I was thinking of using him as a sacrifice to rebirth as Sword Dragon.
The moment Seomun Cheong-ha and I stepped out of Shaolin Temple’s Main Gate.
[Disciple, I’m here.]
I heard Senior Brother’s voice in my ear.
Along with it, the scent of wildflowers brushed against my nose. With a gust of wind, someone appeared in my sight.
Standing there was a beautiful maiden with radiant black hair reflecting a sky-blue hue, a peerless beauty rivaling Jeoksawol, standing with the innocence of a woman.
She was strikingly beautiful, embodying all the beauty of the world, with fair skin that looked around 17 years old, reminiscent of the phrase “a beauty that can topple nations.”
Her black eyes, framed by the form-fitting black martial attire that revealed her ample bosom and curves, focused on me.
Who is she?
Was there another beauty with such remarkable looks apart from Jeoksawol? I had never heard of anyone like her in my past life. With that level of beauty, she would surely be well known…
But her face somehow felt familiar. Is she someone I know?
The moment our eyes met, her face blushed shyly.
Urg.
The surplus yang energy in my body surged downwards, standing upright.
It was an oversight because the energy from the Everlasting Flower hadn’t completely permeated my muscles yet. As I flustered, trying to calm it down…
[W-Wait, it’s me… Yujinhwi…!]
The breathtaking maiden before me sent me a signal.
Wait.
What?
S-Senior Brother…?! So that means I’m…
I just stood up after looking at the Senior Brother!