That’s Not How You Use Martial Arts

Chapter 22
Why There Is No Sword Qi (2)

『 Translator – Divinity 』

That night.

As expected, we ended up camping outdoors, and we decided to use the food we had received in abundance during the day for our meal.

Unlike preserved food, this would spoil if we kept it for too long.

Since we had received so much, we would have to throw most of it away if we didn’t eat with gusto, so everyone began their meal with a vengeance.

Except for me.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh deep enough to create a sinkhole.

I could feel the gazes of the others eating next to me, but I didn’t have the capacity to care about that right now.

“Sigh…”

To think that neither the Sky-Piercing Sword Technique nor the Emperor’s Sword Formation existed.

I was already aware that this world was different from the one I knew in many ways.

I was aware, but to think that the Namgung family wouldn’t even have the Emperor’s Sword Formation, wasn’t that going too far?

A Namgung family without the Emperor’s Sword Formation was like beef noodle soup without beef, or Mapo tofu without tofu!

I screamed internally, but that wouldn’t make the non-existent Emperor’s Sword Formation suddenly appear.

In the end, I sighed again.

“Sigh…”

“Are you going to keep sighing and ruining everyone’s appetite!?”

Unable to endure my barrage of sighs any longer, Master snapped at me.

I glared at him resentfully.

“If Master hadn’t shattered my dreams and hopes, I wouldn’t be like this.”

“What? You little…! Is it my fault that the Namgung family doesn’t have that Emperor whatever-it-is!?”

“…Well, when you put it like that, I have nothing to say.”

Unable to refute his sound logic, I finally relaxed my expression and resumed eating.

“Munch, munch…”

I took a large bite of the dumplings I had received from the dumpling shop during the day and pondered.

Why didn’t the Sky-Piercing Sword Technique or the Emperor’s Sword Formation exist?

Weren’t those two techniques the symbols and ultimate moves of the Namgung family, always appearing in countless martial arts novels?

With a very high probability, they were the secret techniques the head of the Namgung family, often called the Sword King, would unveil in moments of crisis. Especially the Emperor’s Sword Formation.

It would overwhelm the opponent before them, stopping their movements, and then annihilate them without a trace with a sword enveloped in storm and thunder, truly the embodiment of the Emperor’s Sword!

“……”

I briefly recalled the descriptions of the Emperor’s Sword Formation, then returned to reality and felt dejected.

And that dejection soon turned into resignation.

Yes, perhaps I had expected too much.

This was a world without lightness skills, where Sword Qi and Sword Force were considered nonsense.

And the Emperor’s Sword Formation, if you had to be specific, was just a product of imagination created by countless martial arts novel authors.

It was my fault for unilaterally assuming that such a technique would definitely exist.

Realizing this, I cleanly let go of my lingering attachment.

Yes, what could I do if it didn’t exist?

Was I going to lie down in the Namgung family’s training ground and beg them to create a new technique for me? That wasn’t going to happen.

Let’s give up cleanly and focus on what needs to be done now.

I took a deep breath, letting go of all my lingering regrets, and raised my head.

Looking at the three people staring at me, I spoke.

“Now then, shall we begin the Sword Qi training?”

It was time to impart the knowledge of Sword Qi, the reward for receiving the Golden Dragon Divine Elixir.

First, I approached a nearby tree and plucked three or four suitably long and supple branches.

“What are those for? Are you going to practice with those?”

Hwa-ryeon asked, looking at me, and I shook my head.

“No, I’m going to explain things before the actual training. It’ll probably take quite a while, if I’m right.”

“…Aren’t you underestimating us too much?”

“I’m not. You’ll understand once you hear the explanation.”

As Hwa-ryeon grumbled, my words might have sounded like I was looking down on their skills.

But I wasn’t underestimating them at all.

This was more of an issue of… what should I call it? Habit? Instinct? Something like that.

“First, I’ll show you what Sword Qi really is. Assistant Instructor Hwa-ryeon, bring your sword and step forward.”

“…When did I become an assistant instructor?”

“Just now. Step forward.”

Hwa-ryeon, looking at me with an incredulous expression, stepped forward with a small sigh.

Facing her, I held only a single branch in my hand.

“Now then, let’s have a single exchange. Come at me.”

“…What?”

Hwa-ryeon’s expression became even more incredulous.

Her dark eyes darted between my face and the branch in my hand, then filled with anger.

“…Don’t regret this.”

It was probably pointless to tell her I wasn’t looking down on her.

Well, she would understand once we clashed.

I flicked the branch, and Hwa-ryeon, drawing her sword, charged at me with a fierce aura.

A powerful sword, seemingly capable of splitting me in two, came flying towards me, and I swung the branch to meet it.

“…!”

“It’s dangerous!”

Hwa-ryeon’s eyes widened, and the force behind her sword lessened, as if she hadn’t expected me to actually try to block it with a branch.

I smirked at Seol-i’s cry and struck Hwa-ryeon’s sword with the branch.

Clang!

“Huh?”

“What the…!?”

A sound that shouldn’t be possible when a branch and a sword clashed rang out, and Hwa-ryeon lost her grip on her sword.

The metallic sound of the sword rolling helplessly on the ground was quite pathetic, but none of us paid any attention to it.

Their eyes were fixed on the branch, perfectly intact despite clashing with the sharp sword.

Hwa-ryeon, staring at the branch in my hand with a surprised look, narrowed her eyes.

It seemed she had seen the faint heat haze surrounding the branch.

Meanwhile, Master mumbled with a dazed expression,

“…Don’t tell me that branch is the legendary Vajra Wood?”

“No way. It’s just an ordinary branch.”

I broke the branch in my hand in front of Master.

Snap, snap!

While Master and Seol-i stared blankly at the branch falling to the ground in four pieces, Hwa-ryeon, who had retrieved her sword, spoke up.

“…Did you use Sword Qi with the branch?”

“Correct.”

Instead of the broken branch, I picked up a new one and infused it with qi, stronger than before.

A more vivid heat haze rose from the branch enveloped in my qi, and everyone’s eyes focused on it.

“This is Sword Qi. I channeled the internal energy cultivated within my body to the outside and enveloped the branch with it. That’s why it wasn’t cut, but instead deflected the sharp sword.”

“Internal energy… to the outside?”

Master mumbled with a confused look.

It was understandable.

For someone who had spent his entire life using internal energy only to enhance his physical abilities, channeling internal energy outside the body was a completely foreign concept.

However, compared to Master, Hwa-ryeon and Seol-i seemed to accept it relatively easily.

Simply put, Master’s mind had become rigid with age…

“You brat, it seems like you’re having disrespectful thoughts.”

“No way. Look at my innocent eyes.”

As expected of Master, a peerless expert in reading expressions.

I smiled broadly and blinked repeatedly, and he averted his gaze as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

“So? How do you channel internal energy outside the body?”

Hwa-ryeon, having silenced Master with a glare, urged me on.

“Uh, if you release your internal energy through the acupoints in your body… Wait, wait!”

I hurriedly stopped Seol-i and Hwa-ryeon, who were about to circulate their internal energy.

“Why?”

“Geez, you should listen until the end. You can release internal energy through the acupoints, but it requires controlling the strength.”

“…Controlling the strength?”

This time, both Hwa-ryeon and Seol-i looked confused.

Seeing their expressions, I had a feeling that something would go terribly wrong if I had them release their internal energy right away.

My concern was growing stronger.

There was only one way to confirm it.

I hesitated for a moment, then forced myself to speak.

“…Could you perhaps tell me your internal energy circulation techniques?”

“What? What do you mean…!?”

“……”

Seol-i was shocked, and Hwa-ryeon remained silent.

Even I understood their reaction to my own words.

Asking for their internal energy circulation techniques.

Simply put, it was no different from asking them to reveal their weaknesses.

It was an impolite request that couldn’t be made lightly, even between close friends.

I knew better than anyone that it was an absurd request, but I had to know for the sake of teaching them how to release internal energy.

Just as I was about to explain the situation in detail, Hwa-ryeon spoke first.

“Is it alright if we just tell you the circulation techniques?”

“Just the circulation techniques… what?”

“Miss?!”

Hwa-ryeon’s words surprised not only me, but also Master and Seol-i.

By the way, so they called Hwa-ryeon “Miss.” I didn’t know that.

No, no! That wasn’t important!

“…Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? We’re the ones who asked you to teach us your secret technique.”

“Ah…”

Seol-i, belatedly realizing this, looked sheepish and glanced at Master.

Master, looking at his disciple, clicked his tongue and nodded.

With Master’s permission, Seol-i also told me her circulation technique, following Hwa-ryeon’s lead.

And after hearing both of their techniques, I couldn’t help but groan.

I had a hunch, but it was as I expected.

There was no way I could teach them how to release internal energy like this.

“Hmm…”

“Young Master? Is there a problem?”

“There is. A very big one, in fact.”

At my answer, the others looked puzzled.

And then, I dropped a bombshell on them.

“I think you need to change your internal energy circulation techniques.”