Episode 1 – Deep Mountain Valley
Blue night.
Mountains, trees, clouds. Even the tranquil lake reflecting it all.
The world is either entirely black or blue.
As if a piece of landscape painting has been cut out.
A silent world, devoid of even the chirping of common insects.
The extremely static, monochrome world presses down, making it hard to even breathe.
But only one thing.
The woman standing in the center of the lake, holding a sword, was separate from the preserved world.
As if receiving the moonlight hidden by the clouds all to herself.
The woman, shimmering silver alone in the dark blue world, is moving very slowly.
Yet, gracefully.
A sword dance in the middle of the night.
The continuous and unbroken path of the sword, nevertheless, did not break the tranquility of the night, only engraving a silver trajectory into the night scenery.
That figure was like a weeping willow in full bloom.
Sometimes a cascading waterfall, and at other times, majestic as a mountain.
A sword dance embodying nature.
The swordplay, which naturally inspired a sense of awe, spurred towards its end.
Clang-
As the dawn breaking from the east swept away the darkness.
The sword tip, shot like light, cleaved the night sky in that instant.
Yujeong also woke up from her dream.
“It’s that dream again.”
The words she spat out as soon as she opened her eyes were filled with fatigue.
The sunlight and chirping birds began to replace the black and blue scenery.
It was a cozy morning scene mixed with the scent of earth.
But the reason she couldn’t start the morning refreshed was clear.
The pure white sword dance that had been steadily tormenting Yujeong for the past few years was the very reason.
A beautiful woman with silver hair.
The path of the sword drawn by her blade was enough to inspire admiration and awe in any martial artist who wielded a sword.
But Yujeong didn’t just admire it.
A competitive spirit.
The desire to directly compete with swords and win, and to show her own sword to her, was like fire.
‘But it’s impossible.’
Knowing it was impossible for some reason.
Every time she woke up from the dream, Yujeong felt a deep sense of fatigue and futility.
It was a kind of frustration.
But she soon shook it off.
On the first day, she suffered from lethargy all day, but two years had already passed, and that time was enough to sort out her clumsy emotions.
“I need to prepare breakfast.”
Clap clap-
Yujeong slapped her face a couple of times and cheered herself up.
After tidying up the bedding, she left the room, calculating what kind of meal to prepare.
Then, the mountains that surrounded her like a folding screen and the all-green trees washed Yujeong’s eyes with green.
Mount Kuaiji in Zhejiang.
A famous and sacred mountain, known for being where King Goujian of Yue suffered humiliation.
As such, many tourists and herbalists were active, but there was a deep place where even they dared not set foot.
That place was called Muogok (Mist-Weeping Valley).
A place shrouded in fog all year round.
A strange place where visitors get lost as if possessed and come back to the entrance.
Especially beyond that Muogok, where the sound of birds is ominously absent, even herbalists avoid it.
A small thatched house was Yujeong’s residence.
Of course, Yujeong doesn’t live alone in such a remote place.
“Master. Are you awake?”
Yujeong lives with her master, who is like a parent.
It is the duty of a disciple to greet and inform her of the meal preparation.
To check on her master and say hello, Yujeong abruptly opened the door to the next room and froze in an instant.
Her master, who usually sleeps a lot and should still be snoring, was nowhere to be found.
Wildflowers, pebbles. The room was littered with trivial junk.
Only the disheveled bedding was guarding the spot, and Yujeong touched her head as she looked at it.
“She woke up early.”
Her master, who usually doesn’t wake up even when shaken.
But sometimes, she would wake up before Yujeong woke her up like this.
And whenever that happened, her master would do something.
‘I have to find her before the situation gets worse.’
Her master is unpredictable.
She doesn’t know what she’ll do. She doesn’t know if she’ll hide somewhere out of sight for days.
He immediately came out of the room into the yard and began to move the inner strength of his dantian.
The energy of Yang sleeping in the Gihae blood point (Sea of Qi acupoint).
It is the manifestation of the divine art he learned, Cheongwangmuaeshin’gong (Heavenly Light Unobstructed Divine Art).
Pararat-
Even though the wind wasn’t blowing, the sleeves of the black martial arts uniform fluttered on their own.
A gust of wind blew into the yard a beat late.
Yujeong’s body, which was standing in the yard, leaped up in an instant and climbed a tree several times taller than her.
Riding Qi to Soar.
It was a technique of light body skill that seemed simple but was not easy, concentrating inner strength on the Yongcheon blood point (Bubbling Spring acupoint) located on the soles of the feet and jumping up in an instant.
“Hmm.”
Yujeong, standing on the tree, scanned her surroundings and let out a groan.
She had climbed to a fairly high position through several re-leaps.
But her master’s figure was not visible.
It was natural.
The inside of this Muogok is quite wide and there are many obstacles blocking the view.
No matter how well Yujeong knows this area like the back of her hand, it is difficult to find a single person.
However, it is also impossible to go around one by one.
She had to save as much time as possible as she didn’t know when her master would go outside the camp.
So Yujeong opened her mouth instead of enhancing her eyesight.
A soft whistling sound.
It contained the inner strength of Heavenly Light Unobstructed Divine Art
Perhaps that’s why. A surprisingly clear melody spread slowly but surely.
When it surpassed the sound of insects, the sound of flowing streams, and even the soft sound of leaves brushing against each other.
-Kkieeeeek
Yujeong’s hearing, which had sharpened her senses with internal energy, picked up the sound of a bird crying in the distance.
As if responding to the melody Yujeong had spat out.
A smile spread on her face at the sound of the birds of prey crying at regular intervals.
“It’s there.”
She only pays off now that I feed her meat. Yujeong smiled contentedly and moved her body again.
A fleeting movement.
Light body skills and divine steps that had reached a mature level unfolded.
After going like that for a while.
After passing through the forest and crossing a stream, Yujeong reached the person she had been looking for.
“Master…”
She had told her so many times.
Yujeong’s eyes widened as she approached, determined to say a word to her master who had gone out without a word again.
The Orthodox Alliance centered on Shaolin.
It has been 100 years since they helped the imperial family drive out the sorcerers of the Sun Moon Sect and were recognized for non-interference in government affairs.
In recent times, it was not difficult to find people with swords at their waists.
Those who train in martial arts and wield weapons for their own purposes.
The world called them martial artists.
Thus, the forest of swords and sabers, the turbulent martial world !
The martial world is a place where countless lives are risked on the edge of a sword every day and are vainly lost.
And Yujeong realized anew why her master was called the Sword Empress in such a terrifying place.
Anyone who saw the scene in front of her would feel the same way.
A small clearing.
Standing in the center of it, Yujeong’s master was dancing.
Just like the woman she saw in her dream.
Waving her white hair, she wields a sword as big as her body with ease.
Of course, it wasn’t a typical sword dance.
If it were, there would be no reason for Yujeong to admire it.
Yujeong’s gaze was fixed on the sword dance, or rather, the tip of the sword drawing the path of the sword.
‘A butterfly?’
It’s not just her master’s sword that’s moving.
A pure white butterfly, like her master’s silver hair, was fluttering as if teasing a flower.
It was very harmonious and therefore even more bizarre.
Yujeong is familiar with the sword forms that make up the sword dance.
Starting with the Ten Iron Sword Forms, which are the basic sword forms of the sect.
Not only Gwanghwa Eight Streams (Radiant Flow Eight Streams), which can be seen as a full-fledged sword art, but also basic arts from other sects such as the Tai Chi Sword and the Six Harmonies Sword are mixed in.
If Yujeong were asked to imitate her master’s movements right now, she would be able to do so without difficulty.
However, the butterfly was different.
Her master’s sword is being wielded continuously and its momentum is quite fierce.
She is wielding the sword as a habit, but.
Because the history it possesses is not light, it seemed like it would easily cut down even a wild animal, let alone a butterfly.
Yet, that sword dance did not harm the butterfly at all.
Even the wind created naturally as the sword is wielded matches the flow of the butterfly’s movements.
As if two dancers had decided on a combination.
Her master’s sword and the butterfly were dancing together in harmony.
So Yujeong just watched.
Because she didn’t want to break this small and amazing sight.
She thought that anyone she brought would do the same.
It was that beautiful.
But the small banquet did not last long.
The cause of the change was Yujeong’s master.
Thud-
Her master fell.
Perhaps startled by the sudden noise.
The butterfly she was playing with disappeared indifferently beyond the tree without even looking back.
Conversely, Yujeong was also greatly surprised and hurriedly ran to her master.
A step using internal energy.
In an instant, she crossed the space and Yujeong reached her master.
“Master!”
Yujeong picked up her fallen master.
He fussed over her and examined her master’s body.
She fell while holding a sword. It was a dangerous situation.
She wondered if she had been cut by the sword. She wondered if her joints had been damaged by hitting the ground.
Yujeong carefully checked the body of the girl, who was smaller than her, here and there.
The girl watched what Yujeong was doing silently.
Yujeong’s master, once called the Sword Empress, tilted her small head and shouted with a bright smile.
“Jeong’a !”
Calling her disciple’s childhood name. The Sword Empress ran towards Yujeong.
Her silver hair fluttered with her quick movements like a squirrel.
The problem is,
“Master! The sword in your hand first!”
From the moment she was doing the sword dance until she fell.
She is still holding the sword she was holding in her small, adorable hand.
The sword was wielded recklessly at close range.
Yujeong was horrified and twisted her body using divine steps and barely hugged her master.
The small master, who was hugged with a thud, rubbed her head against Yujeong’s chest, constantly shouting Jeong’a, Jeong’a.
“Why did you come all the way here without eating breakfast?”
Yujeong asked, stroking the head of her young master, who had made her anxious since morning.
“Yes. A friend called me.”
“The butterfly from earlier?”
“Yes. Her name is Baek’a. She plays with me often.”
“Still, you should eat before you play. I was worried.”
“Okay, Jeong’a. But you have to give me meat.”
“You shouldn’t be picky.”
“But it’s not delicious.”
The Sword Empress, who had taken her head off Yujeong’s chest, looked up.
Her cheeks were puffy. It was a familiar complaint about food.
Yujeong made eye contact with her master, who looked about 10 years old.
Who would believe that this girl is the Sword Empress?
But Yujeong knows.
That this girl is her master.
When martial arts reached its peak and surpassed Furnace Fire Purity
It surpassed the degree of preventing aging and time went backwards.
Yujeong’s master, the Sword Empress, had undergone reverse aging.
But there was a problem.
One is that she became too young.
The other is that it’s not just her body that became younger.
Yujeong’s master, the Sword Empress, suffers from dementia.
