“I’m thinking of doing a little business.”
“Business? What kind of business? Do you need money? Just say the word. I’ll give it to you.”
“Come on. How can I spend Grandfather’s money? I’ll earn it myself and use that.”
“Don’t tell me. You’re planning to sell weapons?”
“Correct. It raises Heavenly Martial Castle’s combat power, and I make money too. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?”
“Huh...”
“Why? Does that lower my dignity as the future Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“No, not at all. I’m impressed because it’s a very good idea.”
I laughed to myself as I watched Jeok Mugun wave his hands, insisting that wasn’t it.
“Then I’ll do a little business.”
“R-Right. Sell... sell a lot.”
“Ah! There is something I need. Can you give it to me?”
“What is it?”
“A list of Heavenly Martial Castle’s upper leadership.”
“That...”
“Why? I’m going to become the future Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle, so shouldn’t I know in advance?”
“Ah, no. You should know! Of course you should. I’ll have it organized and sent over at once.”
“Thank you.”
Jeok Mugun felt vaguely uneasy, like he kept getting reeled in by Jeok Wigang.
A single booklet I received from Jeok Mugun.
Inside it was the personal information of every leader supporting Heavenly Martial Castle.
Among them, the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle.
They were the ones responsible for Heavenly Martial Castle’s martial strength, and more than anyone else, they were obsessed with becoming stronger.
My eldest uncle and second uncle were among the Eight Stars as well.
Jeok Mugun’s first son, Jeok Rigang, the Boundless Heavenly Fist, and his second son, Jeok Ripae, the Eight-Layer Steel Fist.
My third uncle had failed to enter the Eight Stars.
Since both of them used fists, I decided to exclude them for now and target the rest of the Eight Stars first.
One name caught my eye.
Baek Seojin.
The man in charge of all swordsmen in Heavenly Martial Castle, called the Azure Sword Star among the Eight Stars, and the master of the Sword Martial Pavilion.
His epithet was the Clear-Bright Sword Hero.
He was a man mad for the sword.
He loved the sword more than anyone and believed swordsmanship alone was the strongest martial art.
His beloved sword was the Azure-Light Sword, a top-grade famed blade.
The hallmark of Baek Seojin’s martial art was his fast draw and endlessly changing forms.
At times powerful, at times supple, the sword had to move with ceaseless variety.
The Azure-Light Sword was a famed blade that allowed Baek Seojin to unleash that martial art in the most natural way possible.
But even durability had its limit.
No matter how fine the sword, each time Baek Seojin unfolded his forms, the blade’s lifespan would be shaved away little by little.
The Azure-Light Sword was probably already heavily damaged, and Baek Seojin had to be agonizing over what to do with it.
But he could not ask Master Smith Cheon.
Because they had already had a huge clash over reforging the sword.
Master Smith Cheon had said the sword needed to be allowed to rest, but Baek Seojin had been unable to accept that.
To discard a sword that was like his own limbs.
After that, he had not even glanced Master Smith Cheon’s way.
If I could repair the Azure-Light Sword?
Not just repair it, but rebirth it into a blade even greater than before?
How would Baek Seojin react?
He would do anything.
What condition was the Azure-Light Sword in?
If Master Smith Cheon had shaken his head, then it had to be on the verge of breaking.
An ordinary blacksmith would recommend discarding it, but I was not ordinary.
Because with the Five-Element Mantra Method, I could return the Azure-Light Sword to its earliest state.
If I returned it to the beginning, then reforged it and engraved mantras into it, a divine sword on par with the greatest blades would be born.
The cost?
I would charge him exactly as much as he loved the sword.
To see just how great that love was, I rose from my seat to go meet Baek Seojin.
*****
The training ground of the master of the Sword Martial Pavilion.
Baek Seojin was focused on training with the Azure-Light Sword.
SWISH—
SHAAK—
Each time the sword passed ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) through the air, a chilling sound rang out.
It sounded like space itself might be sliced apart.
But Baek Seojin’s expression was not very good.
Something about it clearly displeased him.
“Ha...”
In the end, he let out a sigh, stopped training, and examined the sword.
“So... do I really have to let you go now?”
As he stroked the flat of the blade with a bitter expression, it felt as though the sword trembled.
“Does it hurt that much? I’m sorry.”
He caressed the blade with great care, as if stroking his own child.
Then he sensed a presence and turned his gaze that way, only to see a subordinate hurrying toward him with an urgent look.
“What is it?”
“There is someone here to see you, Pavilion Master.”
“I clearly said that during my training hours, I would meet no one except the Lord of the Castle.”
“He says he can repair your sword, Pavilion Master.”
“What?”
“Shall I tell him to wait?”
“No. I’ll go now.”
SHING—
He sheathed the sword and moved at once.
“Where is he now?”
“I escorted him to the reception room for now.”
“How old did he look?”
“He seemed to have only just passed twenty.”
Stop.
Baek Seojin halted and looked at his subordinate.
His face was full of irritation.
“Are you telling me my sword is something any nobody can repair?”
“N-No, sir.”
“Then why are you introducing me to some brat barely past twenty?”
“I did not believe it at first either. But he came carrying a letter of recommendation from Master Smith Cheon.”
“What?”
“Master Smith Cheon personally wrote that he is a master craftsman superior even to himself, so I had no choice but to believe it.”
“That’s nonsense. That old man would never acknowledge another. Isn’t it fake?”
“I considered that for a moment as well, but who would dare present a fake to you, Pavilion Master, unless they had lost their mind? Their head would fly that very moment.”
His subordinate had a point.
“Hmm. Hearing it put that way, I suppose someone in your position could only reach that conclusion. Fine. Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
*****
BANG—
The reception room door was flung open hard enough to sound like it would break.
The man who entered was Baek Seojin.
His eyes were fixed on only one place.
On me, sitting in the reception room.
“Are you the one who brought Master Smith Cheon’s letter of recommendation and said you can repair my sword?”
I gave a fist-and-palm salute and greeted him.
“It’s my first time meeting you. My name is Gang Wi. Yes. I’m the one who said I can repair Pavilion Master’s Azure-Light Sword.”
SHING—
Right there, he drew the Azure-Light Sword and pointed it at my throat as he spoke.
“Is that so? Then look at it.”
With the sword leveled at me, he studied me in turn.
But there was not the slightest fear in my eyes.
Even though the blade was at my throat.
If he put just a little more force into it, the edge might cut my neck, but I remained focused solely on the sword before my eyes.
“Hmm. It’s in even worse condition than I thought. If you keep using it, it probably won’t survive the year before it breaks.”
“What?”
“The sword is already enduring beyond its limit. It wouldn’t have been strange if it had shattered long ago, but it seems the spirit dwelling within it wanted to stay with Pavilion Master a little longer and held on.”
At the words that the sword possessed a spirit, Baek Seojin’s hand trembled violently.
“So... can you repair it, or can you not?”
I grinned.
“I can.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. But the price is a little high.”
“What?”
“Why? Surely you weren’t expecting me to repair it for free.”
“Urgh... How much do you want?”
“I’ll only take as much as you love this sword, Pavilion Master.”
“What?”
“I said I’ll take only as much as you love it.”
“Urgh. As much as I love it?”
What kind of amount was that supposed to be?
“I’ll give you a hundred gold taels.”
At that, I looked at the Azure-Light Sword and said with a sad expression,
“Azure-Light Sword. It seems your master doesn’t think you’re all that important.”
At those words, Baek Seojin frowned and said,
“Two hundred taels.”
I still looked at the sword with sorrowful eyes.
“Three hundred taels!”
I did not move.
“Five hundred taels!”
“Thank you, Pavilion Master. Then shall we begin the repairs at once?”
At the sight of me instantly changing my stance, Baek Seojin’s expression twisted viciously.
“If you fail to repair it properly... I’ll collect not five hundred taels, but your head.”
“Entrust it to me. You won’t regret it.”
That day, I made up my mind.
For the other leaders too, I would set five hundred gold taels as the proper price.
*****
I took the Azure-Light Sword to Heavenly Fire Road.
“You really said you can fix that? That sword’s lifespan is already over.”
Master Smith Cheon, Geum Hwangryeok, shook his head as he looked at the Azure-Light Sword.
“That’s right. The sword’s lifespan is already over.”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to replace it with another blade body?”
“Of course not. He’d notice right away if I did that.”
“He would. That sword was loved so much by that fellow Baek Seojin that it even developed a spirit.”
“Exactly. Which is why replacing it with another blade body would be even more unacceptable, right? To him, this sword is like a child.”
“Then how do you mean to fix it? That sword has already lost its breath. The grain of the metal is dead, and even the heart-iron has decayed.”
“I know. Fine cracks have already eaten through the entire blade body, and even split meridians are visible. In this condition, never mind tempering it—if you put it into the furnace, it would be destroyed on the spot.”
“You saw it precisely. So how do you intend to repair it? The proper path for that sword is simply to send it off with care.”
I grinned.
“I have sorcery, don’t I?”
“Sorcery is not all-powerful. It cannot save that sword.”
“I’m going to try first.”
“Stubborn brat... Do as you wish. If someone better than me wants to try, how could I stop him?”
Geum Hwangryeok left, and I looked at the sword and said,
“Don’t worry. I’ll make you stronger than before.”
Did it feel my sincerity?
The sword cried out.
HUMMMMM—
“Right. Right. Just wait a little.”
What I was about to use was the Art of Spirit Reversion.
An art that returned old things to new.
I inscribed the formula into the sword and murmured the incantation.
Form recalled.
Spirit connected.
Severed bond restored.
Return the sword to its first beginning.
As the incantation ended, a faint current stirred around the sword.
Tiny specks of dust around it floated into the air, and tangled threads of light rose across the blade like veins.
Those vein-like spreads were the sword’s wounds.
The festering traces of time accumulated over long years.
The Art of Spirit Reversion did not merely make the outside new.
It was an art that called forth the memory of first forging sleeping deep within exhausted metal and returned it to its original state.
A small resonance bloomed from inside the sword.
A subtle vibration spread through it, like a living thing breathing.
The light grew stronger and stronger, becoming as hot as a blast furnace.
Soon it glowed red, and the tangled masses of light began to unravel and slowly disappear.
The traces of time were peeled away, and before long, the blade shone as if it had just been forged.
The Azure-Light Sword had returned to the moment of its birth.
Had the spirit vanished as well?
No.
HUMMMMMMM—
I could feel joy in the way it gave voice to its sword cry.
That meant the spirit still remained.
That alone would have made Baek Seojin overjoyed, but I was not done yet.
I had taken five hundred gold taels. Ending it here would feel lacking.
The customer had to be perfectly satisfied, to the point where five hundred taels would not feel wasteful in the slightest.
I began engraving arts into the sword.
I added a mantra that would allow Baek Seojin’s qi to melt perfectly into the sword, and another mantra that would strengthen its durability tenfold.
On top of that, I strengthened the spirit’s aura so it would recognize its master.