After the morning training ended, I gave the other disciples a brief break, leaving only Seorin and the eldest behind.
I stood with my arms crossed.
It might sound a bit like bragging, but I think I’m quite perceptive.
No, it’s not just being good at it; I’m almost at a level where I rarely miss anything.
For the disciples to try to deceive such a teacher…
It’s a little bit annoying.
The wind gently blew, scattering some of the fallen leaves on the ground.
Suddenly, I found myself wondering how to start the conversation.
“Jin Seorin.”
As I called her, she quietly stood up.
Without saying a word, she stood in front of me and slightly lowered her head.
She was usually calm, but today she seemed especially composed.
I took a breath and pondered.
How should I begin this conversation?
I’m not the type to scold loudly.
I’ve been strict in teaching, but scolding is hard for me.
Instead, I think it’s better to let them realize things on their own.
It’s not easy, though.
That’s the feeling a parent might have.
Even though I want to scold them sharply, seeing them like this makes it hard to be stern.
I slowly picked up my sword.
“Lift your sword.”
Seorin flinched ever so slightly, but she soon raised her head and quietly took the sword.
A swordsman speaks with their sword.
Jin Seorin quietly lifted her sword.
The teacher’s voice was calm, just like usual. But for a moment, she felt her fingertips tremble slightly.
Did the teacher notice?
Since the training, during meals, and even just moments ago, she had been observing herself too sharply, more than usual.
Jin Seorin steadied her breath and gripped the sword tightly.
Has he noticed?
In her past life, she had already perfected this sword technique.
She had spent decades honing it, and had wielded it countless times in real combat.
And… there was no way her teacher wouldn’t notice that.
If anyone could pick up on even the smallest movement, it would be her teacher.
Jin Seorin raised her sword, pretending to be indifferent.
I need to stay calm.
But it felt as if her teacher’s gaze could pierce right through her.
What if he notices and is disappointed?
Suddenly, she felt a tightness in her chest.
Her teacher was strong, righteous, and more honorable than anyone she knew.
What if he recalls memories from her past life and sees her as a traitor?
What if he no longer recognizes her as his disciple?
She couldn’t bear that.
“Too many distractions.”
With a cold voice, the sword flew toward her rapidly.
Jin Seorin instinctively raised her sword in defense, but her teacher’s blade was already piercing through her guard.
So fast…!
She instinctively twisted her body to adopt a defensive stance, but her teacher’s sword easily pushed her own aside.
“A sword is not something done with the mind. Your body must react first.”
His blade grazed her shoulder before stopping.
Jin Seorin held her breath.
Her teacher paused for a moment.
She quietly took a deep breath, but her heart was racing.
Was she making it too obvious?
He withdrew his sword and looked at her.
“Come at me first.”
In that moment, an overwhelming killing intent spread out.
Jin Seorin’s mind went completely blank.
This wasn’t just simple pressure that one would feel in a practice arena.
Even on the battlefield, facing the enemy, she had never felt such a clear aura of death.
Before her body could even react, her heart tightened first.
She was already responding.
In an instant, Jin Seorin’s feet moved lightly.
Her sword naturally traced a path, and a fierce blade of wind swept through the dojo.
This was, “Azure Wind Sword Technique, Thirteenth Form.”
The technique she had perfected in her past life.
Jin Seorin’s sword shot out like lightning.
It was a technique she had completed in her previous life.
A swordplay honed through countless battles, refined in the blood and flesh of war.
Instinct screamed at her. Even her teacher would find it difficult to counter this.
But then.
Clang.
With a simple metallic sound, the strike was easily blocked.
“So this was what you were worried about.”
Her teacher calmly smiled, as if he had known everything all along.
Jin Seorin’s heart dropped.
This can’t be…
Even in an incomplete state, this was not the kind of strike that could be blocked so easily.
No matter how much she hadn’t perfected it like her past self.
Her teacher had blocked it with ease.
Jin Seorin’s mind went completely blank.
What… is my teacher…?
Now I understand.
Now I understand why she was so impatient.
Why she went out and experienced real combat without even telling me.
The moment Seorin’s sword flew toward me, I could feel her impatience in the attack.
The Azure Wind Sword Technique is originally a gentle and flowing sword style.
It’s a technique that overpowers the opponent by following the flow, rather than relying on brute strength.
But the strike she just showed was different.
Instead of following the flow, it had a pushing force.
In an instant, the intention to use power to break her opponent was clear.
I raised my sword lightly and blocked Seorin’s attack. There was no need to exert force.
Clang.
Seorin’s sword stopped, and her eyes wavered.
I smiled slightly and lowered my sword.
“This was what you were worried about.”
Seorin stared at me without saying a word.
I glanced at Seorin’s sword slowly.
The Azure Wind Sword Technique isn’t usually like that.
But Seorin didn’t simply use it as she was taught; she added her own flair to it.
I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
Yeah, that’s just like you.
I feel bad saying this about my other disciples, but when it comes to swords, Seorin is the best.
Even I didn’t add my own style like that at her age.
“But that’s the wrong path, Seorin.”
The path Seorin is trying to take is the fast one.
The path of the outlaw, one that cuts down and destroys everything that stands in its way.
That path is not the right one.
Having walked that path once before, I know better than anyone.
It can’t be helped.
I don’t want to scold her, but as a teacher, I cannot just watch a disciple head down the wrong path.
I have no choice but to use a little force.
I looked at her.
“Seorin.”
Seorin maintained her stance and observed my expression.
I smiled slightly and raised my sword again.
“If you’re confident, prove it to me.”
As I readied my stance, the sword in Seorin’s hand trembled ever so slightly.
Right now, Seorin’s mind must be racing with thoughts.
But, a swordsman speaks with their sword.
I took a step forward.
“Come.”
Seorin’s sword flew toward me like lightning.
This time, there was no hesitation.
It was a move that seemed to say she would prove her way through this sword.
Then, I swung my sword gently.
Just before Seorin’s sword could strike me, my sword lightly deflected her trajectory.
It was a strike full of power, but like a leaf blown by the wind, its direction was thrown off.
Seorin’s eyes shook in surprise.
But I didn’t stop.
Following Seorin’s sword naturally, I disrupted her balance.
She tried to strike down with force, but my sword didn’t receive it.
It neither blocked nor deflected.
It simply.
Let it pass.
Seorin’s sword was completely neutralized, to the point where it felt like it had broken.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“This is the real Azure Wind Sword Technique.”
Seorin froze in place.
The sword in her hand, the strength she had trusted without doubt until just now, seemed to slip away into the air, as if it was nothing.
That’s probably what she was thinking.
But I knew.
I knew everything.
I slowly spoke as I lowered my sword.
“The path you’re trying to take is the one that forces its way through with strength. But the wind doesn’t blow that way. The wind embraces everything, sometimes evading, sometimes letting things flow away. Your sword right now is more like a storm than the wind.”
Seorin bit her lip tightly and looked at me.
She still couldn’t accept the reality that her sword had been rejected.
I smiled slightly as I slung my sword across my back and looked at her.
“Now, think again. Is your sword really on the right path?”
First Disciple – Jin Seorin’s Monologue on her first day of reincarnation.
There wasn’t a day when blood didn’t flow from the hand gripping the sword.
I held the sword, and I cut everything with it.
When my teacher died, I witnessed the fall of the Wudang Sect.
At first, I couldn’t believe it.
I couldn’t believe it.
That person, the one who was so strong, was killed by those worthless traitors.
I set aside my emotions and calculated everything coldly.
To take revenge on those who destroyed Wudang, I became the leader of the Blood God Cult.
At first, I thought it was an efficient choice.
To achieve my goal, I had to discard my emotions, and in that case, it made sense to make the most powerful faction mine.
But after I had cut down all my enemies, I realized.
There was nothing left in my teacher’s place.
Only then did regret flood over me.
But it was too late.
Yet, I’ve returned.
This time, I will never make the same mistake again.
This time, I will protect my teacher.
“Jin Seorin. Why are you standing there blankly?”
My teacher calls out to me.
Just hearing that voice fills me with happiness that I can hardly believe.
So, this time, in this life, I will definitely…
Quietly, more thoroughly than anyone, I will protect him.
And…
I will no longer deny it.
This feeling.
A feeling beyond just respect for my teacher.
But those other kids…
Why are they all sticking to my teacher so much?
He’s mine.