Douglas and Boulder, as instructed, were striving to graft aura onto internal energy by drawing it into the body.
Whether it was the law of the Azure Sky that guided one to the right path without conscious effort, it was common for me to use my body rather than my mind when governing my body and extending my sword.
Having added fifteen to forty-five, I had spent sixty years training my body so that internal energy moved along the designated Acupoints without needing to be forced, just as water flows from top to bottom.
But today was different. Cautiously, without even opening my upper Dantian, I imitated the soft Divine Power, coaxing and soothing the energies that had settled within my body.
I could count on one hand the number of times I had controlled and used internal energy this meticulously.
Because it was so different from my usual method of circulating internal energy, the internal energy within the Dantian in my belly was bewildered and did not immediately obey.
Fortunately, aura, Mana, and Divine Power, unlike internal energy, were energies that did not remain in the body, so they did not significantly affect the lower Dantian.
Aura was used directly outside the body, Mana was drawn into the body and then expelled, and Divine Power initially descended softly before scattering like clouds.
I repeated the process of drawing in and losing, gathering and scattering, several times.
“Wouldn’t it be better to awaken divinity than to circulate internal energy like Divine Power?”
“…”
“How about having faith, Young Master Ernhardt? It’s not a coercion, but I think that path would be easier.”
“…No, it’s alright. That path doesn’t seem easy either…”
Blanc Cooper, on the contrary, was a hindrance. The idea that all this would be resolved with faith was initially tempting, but it sounded more and more like the ravings of a madman. I realized that theologians were just as difficult to deal with as mages.
If Douglas hadn’t occasionally stopped Blanc Cooper with a composed smile, I wouldn’t have been able to suppress the urge to run away.
I thought about the Taoist and the Yin-Yang Mind Technique several times.
The Yin-Yang Mind Technique was an Esoteric skill of the Taoist sect that split the mind into two to use two types of internal energy. The whole Martial world had been shaken when it was said that Jang Mu-hyeon, the best swordsman of the Taoist sect, had mastered Yin-Yang.
I had associated with many Martial artists before I died. There were those I met at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, and many Martial artists I met while performing chivalrous deeds. If they were righteous Martial artists, I mingled with them regardless of their skill and shared swords.
Naturally, I had seen and known many of their swords, but I had never imitated or copied them even once. In the Central Plains Martial world, that was considered a greater evil than theft.
It was not the right path.
All Martial artists knew that the swords of Mount Hua added plum blossoms. Even if masters who had not mastered the Eye Technique could not immediately grasp the true meaning, they could at least copy the swordplay by looking at it. But no one dared to imitate the swords of Mount Hua.
It was a great crime for someone who was neither a direct disciple nor a lay disciple to imitate and use orthodox swordplay. Those who stole and learned Martial arts had their Dantian destroyed, their limbs severed, and, depending on their status or conduct, even their lives were forfeited.
Not only Mount Hua. All Martial sects, led by the Nine Sects and the Five Great Families, clearly defined the boundaries between their own and others’ techniques.
Naturally, in my previous life, I used only the swordplay that was permitted to me, in the permitted manner. I was a Namgung Martial artist, following the way of heaven, bearing the name of Namgung. I lived believing that was enough.
But in this different world, I had changed.
I taught the Azure Sky swordplay to children of unfamiliar families who asked about it, and I sought advice from a mage, not even a Martial artist, about Breathing and regulating energy. I learned hidden weapons and assassination techniques, and I mastered several swordplay styles.
What was the point of dividing what was mine and what was yours?
When the direction of life continued in the same way.
I coaxed and soothed the internal energy that wouldn’t listen and pushed it forward. I showed it the form of the aura drawn from afar. I wasn’t sure if what I was doing was right. I was just showing it. Take a look and leave it as it is.
Slyly,
The internal energy brushed past the aura.
It was an energy that soon hid in the Dantian, but it was the first time that internal energy and aura had been so close.
It wasn’t just me who noticed that something had changed. When I took a long breath and stopped Circulating Qi, the three men watching from the side were all clenching their fists and looking at me.
When I chuckled and relaxed my shoulders, Boulder jumped up and applauded.
“It’s done! It’s done! It’s done, right?”
“There’s potential. We can proceed as is.”
Douglas accepted Boulder’s words and smiled kindly. I felt a little embarrassed because I had never sat amidst such carefully watching eyes while Circulating Qi.
“Yes. …What else should I do by next time?”
“It’s not something to entrust to Young Master Ernhardt. We need to grasp the flow and expected path of Mana circulation that can extend from the four eyes… Ah. Can you tell me what you were thinking just now?”
“Hmm…”
I thought carefully. And then I opened my mouth.
“I was thinking… I won’t force it.”
“You won’t force it?”
“Yes. If it doesn’t want to, just leave it alone… Well, you can lead a horse to water.”
“You can’t force it to drink, you mean…”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…I understand… The autonomy of will…”
I thought that there must be a similar saying in this land and closed my mouth. While the three sages were lost in their own thoughts, I also pondered. I spent a long time trying to not forget the feeling I had just experienced, and then I asked what I was curious about.
“So, my internal energy… did it mimic divinity just now?”
“Yes. It resembled it in a pretty good way. It’s amazing that this is a power that changes according to will and imagery.”
“There’s a similar passage in the theological texts, Young Master Ernhardt. According to Chapter 1, Verse 5 of Di-ga-Obas…”
“…Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
I made an effort to ignore Blanc Cooper, who was once again claiming that I had the qualities of a theologian. He wasn’t such a clingy man during the last class, so I thought it was very strange.
❖ ❖ ❖
I spent the weekend with Shayden.
In the early days of the first year, it was natural to spend every weekend with Shayden. But at some point, we naturally found busy things to do and did our own things, so it had been a long time since we had spent a weekend morning together.
I said that it must be because I was preparing to climb the Yuil Mountains, and Shayden laughed out loud.
“Isn’t it because the Second Prince graduated and you have extra time?”
“…”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I blinked and asked.
“…Did it seem that way?”
“If you were a woman, everyone would have believed that you were already engaged to the Second Prince.”
“…”
Suddenly, a curious thought popped up. It was something I had wanted to ask before but couldn’t bring myself to say.
“…In your opinion, when did Luber… seem to start liking… me?”
“Well, I don’t know about the very beginning… But from around… March? April? He seemed that way all along from then on.”
“…In the first year of enrollment?”
“Yeah. What else could change a person like that other than love? In the first place, the Second Prince wasn’t the kind and quiet person you think he is.”
“…I see.”
It was still unbelievable. One side of my heart tingled, and I felt strangely good, and I felt anxious and wanted to run away. If I hadn’t known that he was someone who would naturally drift away even if I didn’t run away, I might have pushed him away long ago.
I still felt sorry for him and pitied him. I felt embarrassed and awkward. He was someone I shouldn’t covet. The more I thought that, the more I wanted to treat him well.
“…Do others think so too, besides you? That he…”
“Uh… Well, no. I don’t think anyone thinks that way except for us who hang out with you. Sierren Empire is protected by prejudice…”
“Prejudice?”
“Yeah, well. Unless you’re like Walter Orgen, openly leaving kiss marks and shouting with your whole body that this man is mine… It’s common for people to think that two men are just really close even if they hang out a lot. I come to your room every night, and I don’t hear any strange rumors.”
“Ah.”
That was the same for me too.
Before Walter Orgen’s incident, I naturally just thought that Luber was a bit clingy. If he hadn’t been so nervous and held my hand so tightly on the night we went to the night market, I definitely wouldn’t have suspected anything…
Shayden continued casually.
“Besides, you’re an Ernhardt. The eldest son of the Ernhardt family, a bloodline of the Valentia Duchy. A genius knight candidate famous as a Grand Sword Master in the making. The succession to the throne will only happen after the current Emperor is old, but the heir is usually decided before the age of thirty, so now is the time to gather power.”
“…That’s true too.”
Shayden naturally told me about the current Second Prince’s faction and the people I should be wary of. He spent time occasionally asking about names I didn’t know and reconfirming the etiquette I should show.
Then, another question suddenly arose.
“Are you okay with it?”
“Huh? What?”
“That Luber is seeing me as… that kind of person, you mean.”
“Uh… Is that so?”
“Don’t you dislike it?”
“…Me? Should I dislike it? Well, I don’t know what you mean by that…”
Shayden was flustered and fidgety, so I felt the need to add an explanation. I calmly cleared my throat and added an explanation step by step.
“I know that you don’t consider it taboo for men to be… in that kind of relationship. But I’m asking if you think I’ve been neglecting you because I’ve been hanging out with him… That’s what I mean.”
“Ah.”
“Marianne said that even if lovers are precious, friends are also important. I think so too. Of course, Luber isn’t my lover, but I’m worried that I might have upset you without knowing it.”
Shayden, who had been flustered and restless, gradually smiled from the time Marianne’s story came out, and then chuckled. The first thing he said wasn’t the answer I wanted.
“Ah, what. You were worried about that? I thought…”
“Hmm?”
“No, no. Love problems are always like that… Is it necessary? Besides, you’ve sufficiently, well, ignored the Second Prince and taken care of us a lot, Mika.”
“…I ignored him…?”
“Uh… It didn’t seem intentional… I was almost feeling sorry for the Second Prince… As your friend, I was also proud.”
What was pitiful, and what was a proud thing? I didn’t know even after listening to the explanation. I was puzzled and sat silently instead of asking when I had done such a thing. I was used to Shayden calmly explaining even if I just sat there.
Indeed, Shayden continued to speak as if coaxing me with a gentle tone.