Chapter 3: The Sword Demon Appears in the Market
A few weeks passed.
Thankfully, Ho-yeon wasn’t dragged around everywhere like people feared.
That was because he kept using his spiritual energy every day, passing out and waking up again and again.
Thanks to this, he was allowed to stay in his room, resting completely.
And when he said his head hurt from the noise around him, the area near his room became quiet like a temple.
“Hmm… It’s nice not needing to worry about people watching me.”
Whooom! Whooom! Whooom!
Ho-yeon sat on his bed, legs crossed, muttering to himself.
Next to him, various objects were floating in the air.
This was the result of him training non-stop to expand his small upper energy center.
“Maybe because I’m young, I’m growing fast.”
He was sweating a lot but smiled happily.
Even though his energy center felt like it was screaming for him to stop.
Still, Ho-yeon kept his telekinesis active and closed his eyes.
“Using two energy powers at the same time… that’s unheard of.”
Telekinesis and Sword Sense.
Even using just one of them would make someone famous. But he could use both.
That was probably because his current body’s talent and the skills from his past life as the Sword Demon were now combined.
“That’s why… I need to be careful with these two powers.”
A noticeable person often gets targeted.
Humans tend to reject or pull down those who are better than them.
“Sword Sense might be okay to show, but I must hide my telekinesis.”
Of course, hiding your power in a life-or-death fight would be foolish.
But there’s also no need to show it first and make people wary.
“If I have to use telekinesis, that already means I failed. So…”
Ho-yeon focused his mind on his lower energy center this time.
This place, called Qi Sea, was filled with blue energy like an ocean.
“The ‘Heavenly Sky Great Divine Skill.’ Only direct descendants of Namgung family can learn it.”
The name means “as vast and great as the blue sky.”
Just as the name says, his lower energy center was completely blue.
“Looks like I’ve taken some spiritual medicine. This should be worth 30 years of energy.”
He was only 15, so he had about twice the normal amount of energy for his age.
“Still not enough… but I can fix that with Mind Absorption. The real problem is this…”
He frowned and looked at a floating white cloud above his energy center.
It looked pure and soft, but Ho-yeon knew it was hiding something.
That cloud was a storm cloud created from the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Skill.
“Thunder King Core… Yin and Yang form Divine Thunder… Energy goes to lower center… Emperor’s power in all thunder…”
As Ho-yeon chanted the secret words of the thunder technique, the cloud reacted immediately.
Whooom…
Inside the cloud, small energy orbs floated around.
They were two types: Yang orbs and Yin orbs, which had opposite energies.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Crack! Craaack!
The Yang and Yin orbs began to crash into each other.
The collisions caused a massive amount of electric power to build up.
Zap! Zzzttt!
“Ugh!”
The cloud turned dark and transformed into a thundercloud.
Flashes of white lightning shot through it, and Ho-yeon’s vision flickered.
Zzzzzzaaaaap!
“Ugh… I’m at my limit…!”
As the cloud turned completely black and the power grew too wild, Ho-yeon stopped the chant.
Zzzzttt!
The lightning scattered quickly.
At the same time, he almost threw up blood but held it back.
“Ugh… damn it…”
He opened his eyes and swore with a frown.
The floating objects had all dropped, and his mouth tasted like metal.
“Whew… How the hell do I even control this ‘Heavenly Thunder Energy’?”
This Thunder Energy was built up using the Heavenly Thunder skill, but it was too strong to manage properly.
In fact, Namgung Ho-yeon in the past died because he couldn’t control this energy.
“But now that it’s inside me… I have to find a way to use it.”
He shook his head.
He really wanted to use his old Sword Demon technique, the Thousand Thread Sword Spirit Skill, but that was impossible now.
His energy center was already full with the Namgung family’s two main techniques: the Heavenly Sky Great Skill and the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Skill.
“Well… these pure family skills are probably better than the mix I used in my past life.”
After all, the world feared the Sword Demon not because of the sword technique, but because of telekinesis.
“Still… what’s the point if I can’t even use them properly?”
He looked at the now calm energy center and the suspicious white cloud and sighed.
It was like seeing delicious food but being unable to eat it.
“…There is one way, though.”
Just as he remembered a possible method, someone approached the door.
Step. Step. Knock knock.
“Ho-yeon?”
“…Sister?”
The voice belonged to his sister, Namgung Sang-ah.
He looked toward the door and saw her shadow moving nervously behind the paper window.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Then… would you like to go out with me? Today is market day. You used to love going to the market.”
“…”
As Ho-yeon stayed silent, she quickly added more.
“Or… maybe not?”
“Well…”
“Oh! Sorry! I forgot you said you don’t like noisy places. Haha…”
Her shadow started to fade, and Ho-yeon suddenly felt a little guilty.
‘Sigh… fine. I get it.’
With a quiet sigh, he spoke.
“Please wait. I’ll get changed and come out.”
“Really?!”
“Yes, let’s go to the market. You’re going to buy me something tasty, right?”
“Of course! I’ll buy whatever Ho-yeon wants!”
Her shadow jumped happily.
Ho-yeon smiled slightly.
‘Well, I did want to check how much the world has changed in 300 years.’
That was all.
Anhui Province, Hefei.
To the north flowed the Huai River. To the south, the Yangtze River. It was a perfect place for trade.
Hefei was a major transport and military hub and had many famous places nearby.
People said, “Once you see the Five Great Mountains, you don’t care for others. Once you see Huangshan, you don’t care for even them.”
Huangshan and Jiuhua Mountain, one of the four great Buddhist mountains, brought hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
So Hefei was always full of people.
And on market days, many rare and interesting items appeared.
“Ho-yeon! Look over there! Isn’t that cool?”
“Looks like a teacup made of glass.”
“And over there! What a strange fabric!”
“That’s high-class silk woven with golden threads.”
Ho-yeon and Namgung Sang-ah walked through the market together.
She brought him here, but she was the one more excited.
‘Hmm… Doesn’t seem like much has changed.’
He looked around at the people.
He thought the world would’ve changed a lot in 300 years.
But people were still people.
“Oh! A performing group! Let’s watch them later.”
“Yes, sister.”
Sang-ah pulled him around the market.
She smiled brightly the whole time.
“Ho-yeon, want some candied fruit?”
“I’m fine.”
“Really? You used to love it.”
“…I want some.”
As soon as she looked sad, Ho-yeon quickly changed his answer.
She smiled brightly and nodded.
“Hehe, okay!”
‘Sigh… Candied fruit? Really? That thing little kids suck on?’
Ho-yeon felt ashamed.
The mighty Sword Demon… eating candied fruit at a marketplace?
“Here you go, your favorite: mandarin-flavored candy!”
“…Thanks.”
Sang-ah handed him a candy stick. He took a bite.
Crunch!
“…Whoa!”
The crispy outside was sweet like honey. The juicy mandarin inside was shockingly fresh.
‘What the—?! Did they mix some secret drug into this?’
He had eaten candied fruit before in his past life, but it never tasted like this.
Did candy-making improve in 300 years?
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
As he ate quickly, Sang-ah wiped his mouth with her sleeve.
“Hehe, is it that good?”
“Hmm…”
“Want another one?”
“…Yes.”
“Okay! But just one more. Too much sugar is bad.”
She smiled and bought him another one, patting his head gently.
‘She’s treating me like a baby… Ugh… Whatever, I’ll put up with it for candy.’
Crunch! Crunch!
She led him again, this time to a stall selling accessories.
“Ho-yeon, see anything you like?”
“No.”
“Before, you—”
“Actually, yes. I want something.”
“Haha, I thought so! Pick anything!”
She smiled, but Ho-yeon felt miserable inside.
‘Ugh… I’m not a kid. What am I even doing here?’
Everything on display was for girls: pouches, hairpins, bracelets…
‘…That silver dagger looks okay, at least.’
As someone who knew swords well, he noticed the dagger was well-made.
“I’ll pick that—huh?”
Just then, he saw Sang-ah staring at something else.
It was a golden butterfly-shaped hairpin, finely crafted.
She looked at it with longing, hesitating. Then she asked,
“Um… how much is this?”
“Hehe, ten silver coins!”
“T-Ten?”
“Made by a famous craftsman in Beijing.”
The seller explained, rubbing his hands, but Sang-ah shook her head.
“It’s okay. Ho-yeon, did you pick something?”
“…No. Nothing I like.”
“Really? That dagger looked nice.”
“Not really my taste.”
“Well then, let’s try a different stall—”
Just then, a sly voice came from behind.
“Lady Sang-ah. Long time no see.”
