Chapter 2

00002 ——————————–

The First Death

I continued my gloomy life today as well.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, my throat felt dry, and I wanted a bowl of congee. Once I quenched my thirst, an indescribable sense of emptiness pricked at me. Soon after, I walked outside and, out of habit, began practicing the Six Harmonies Sword Technique.

Six Harmonies Sword Technique.

It is the most common sword technique in the martial world and is considered the most basic form, the Six Harmonies Mountain Opening, which involves twisting your body to the left and then drawing the sword upward to the right with the force of the counter-movement. In simple terms, it's just a diagonal slash. Even a child could learn it after a few tries.

What about a single section (節) of the Six Harmonies Sword (六合劍) technique, which includes the Six Harmonies Mountain Opening?

It consists of 32 movements and 8 forms. It typically takes a month for an average person to master the Six Harmonies Sword. Even for low-ranking guards in the market, it takes a month of practice to learn the Six Harmonies Sword technique.

Moreover, it is said that to use the movements flawlessly in actual combat, one needs at least five years of practical experience. To reach the level of a master, one must also have internal energy to support it, and it would take no less than 40 years to reach the first-class level.

And I had been practicing martial arts for 45 years this year.

However, I was still far from reaching the first-class level, and I was repeatedly practicing the Six Harmonies Sword Technique in a shabby hut every day. In the martial world, my level, even if generously estimated, would be second-class, and a very ordinary one at that.

How did I end up like this?

“……”

Swish, swish!

I clenched my teeth to keep from swearing and swung my sword.

No matter how much I cursed, my life wouldn't change, so I just kept my mouth shut.

It was the minimal comfort I had learned from living a trash-like life for a long time.

Why didn't I practice any sword techniques other than the Six Harmonies Sword Technique?

It's not that I didn't practice; it's that I couldn't.

I only knew the Six Harmonies Sword Technique and the Three Talents Mind Method (三才心法)!

I stopped swinging my sword.

And after thinking about it for a while, I couldn't help but swear.

“F*ck…”

I was an aspiring martial arts master.

I wasn't born into a martial arts family, nor did I receive training from a renowned master. I had no innate conditions that would allow me to succeed in the martial world, yet I forced myself to work as a bodyguard at a security firm and devoted myself to martial arts for one reason.

I believed it was the only way I could succeed.

I was ugly. So ugly that women would frown and walk past me when I was young, and some mean girls would even spit at me. Even among men, the hatred was the same, and a few handsome guys would make fun of me or pull down my pants.

My family wasn't well-off either, so I lived in poverty. Both my parents passed away when I was twelve, and I was raised by the village chief. He treated me like a servant, and I had to live like a servant to the chief's son. After I became independent as a bodyguard, things improved a bit, but the psychological scars from those days still lingered.

So, as soon as I was old enough to wield a sword, I applied to become a bodyguard at a security firm and worked there for decades. I thought that if I diligently practiced the basic martial arts provided to bodyguards, I could succeed. I believed that with the power of martial arts, I could somehow make it in my ugly, family-less, and miserable life.

Now, I realize it was all an illusion.

The security firm I worked for was destroyed just two years ago by a single first-class master. The Blood Phosphorus Hand, a notorious figure in the region, attacked the firm on behalf of another security firm. The guards were killed one by one, and although the firm's leader eventually killed the Blood Phosphorus Hand, the damage was irreparable.

The leader announced the dissolution of the firm, and I was left with the money I had earned, which was only fifty taels. This was far from enough to live on for the rest of my life. In the end, I had to choose to become a tenant farmer and live like a commoner.

But I refused to accept this as my last resort in life.

I had been practicing martial arts for decades since my late teens. Even though I only knew the Six Harmonies Sword Technique and the Three Talents Mind Method, I thought I might suddenly achieve great success and strike it rich! With this hope, I built a hut in the mountains and began practicing sword techniques without any clear direction.

“... Ah-choo!!”

After two years of practice, I was too weak to swing my sword anymore and was shivering in a corner of the hut, unable to bear the cold.

‘Is... is this a cold...’

It's frustrating.

In martial arts novels, masters live in seclusion in the mountains and maintain their physical strength while diligently practicing. But I soon realized that this was a given. For two years, I had survived by hunting wild animals and digging up roots and mushrooms, and at my age, my body couldn't handle the strain.

A cold is dangerous. It's not just a simple illness; I had no way to recover my strength and fight it off. If I continued like this, I would end up as a common corpse in the mountains. Realizing this, I quickly packed my belongings and prepared to leave the mountains.

As I was putting my belongings into a cloth, I suddenly started crying.

“Ahh-choo! Cough... cough... sob...”

Even with a fever from the cold, I was overwhelmed by sorrow.

How did I end up like this?

When I left the mountains, wasn't it to achieve great success and dominate the world?

But it's absurd to be descending the mountain to survive a cold due to malnutrition and lack of strength.

Still, I had to live, so I wiped away my tears, put the cloth on my back, and started down the mountain. It would take about two hours to reach the village, so I cautiously began navigating the rugged underbrush.

After walking for a while,

“Ugh, ughh!!”

Thud

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet gave way, and I felt myself being pulled into the ground. I quickly grabbed a tree branch to stop myself, and when I looked down, I saw a cliff more than ten feet deep.

Fear washed over me. If I were a martial arts master, I could easily land from a ten-foot drop using my lightness technique, but I am not. My internal energy is so weak that I can't even fight off a cold, so if I fall, I will surely die or become crippled. I quickly threw my backpack down to avoid falling immediately.

With a loud crash, all my belongings were destroyed. But at least I avoided immediate death. I carefully moved my hands and feet along the cliff to find a foothold. After a few tries, I managed to find a place to stand and let go of the tree branch.

Now I had to either climb down or climb up. I imagined which would be easier, but I thought it would be better to go down. The cliff had more footholds and contours, and if I fell while climbing up, the consequences would be severe. Forgetting my cold, I moved with all my strength.

Shivering

Finally, after sweating profusely, I managed to find a place to stand properly. As I caught my breath, I noticed a cave next to the cliff. The cave in the middle of the cliff was clearly man-made, so I was curious and moved toward it. I had no choice but to explore it, as I couldn't hang on the cliff for the rest of my life.

Inside the cave, I felt like I could live. I wanted to collapse and sleep, but I had to check what the cave was. So, I decided to walk further into the cave. The cave was quite deep, and I had to feel my way along the wall for quite a while.

Thud

I hit my head on a stalactite and sat down, suppressing a scream of pain. Then, I noticed a light in the distance and started crawling toward it.

The light was coming from a room with a glowing pearl embedded in it. It was clearly an artificial place! The moment I saw it, I was overwhelmed with joy.

“Hooray!”

Is this a fortuitous encounter (奇然)?

Is this something that only happens in novels actually happening to me?

I was so happy that I felt a warm sensation rising in my throat. I started moving closer to the pearl.

At that moment,

Squish – Thud

“……”

What just happened?

I felt intense pain and my vision blurred. I realized what had happened after a moment of shock. A metal spike had suddenly flown from the front and pierced my stomach. With my insides punctured, the pain was unbearable.

Blood gushed out. Blood spurted from my mouth.

“Ugh, ughh... ahhh...”

I knelt down, waiting for death to come.

I deeply regretted it. If I hadn't entered this cave, I wouldn't have died...

It's obvious that there would be traps to protect a fortuitous encounter...

Why is my life so stupid and unlucky?

... Am I dying?

Am I really dying like this?

“Guh... ughh...”

No, that can't be.

Even if I die, I have to know what's in that box before I die!

I used my last bit of strength to crawl toward the box. The copper box was easy to open, even in my dying state. No, it was designed to open with just a touch.

“This... this is...”

As I reached into the box with my right hand, I grabbed a book (冊).

At the same time, I felt my consciousness fading due to the loss of blood.

I am dying now.

This was my first death.