Chapter 651

“That worked, right?”

After mastering Line and Plane of Vacuum Style, Su-ho’s infinitely relaxed attitude came out together with a smile.

But it was not arrogance, but an attitude born from confidence, so Shiva also smiled broadly.

Above all, since he had just witnessed something entrancing, he must have been even more delighted.

However, if there was one thing regrettable from Su-ho’s position, it was that perhaps because his status and rank had now grown too high, simply learning a few skills no longer granted bonus stats like in the past.

Shiva nodded and raised his thumb.

- It was the best. As expected, you grasped it quickly.

“I grasped it faster than I expected, so I am curious about the fourth form and the fifth form too. But for now, shall we start with what I came here to do?”

- Let us do that.

They said one should pull out the bull’s horn while it was hot, but what mattered most was still the foundational swordsmanship.

To begin with, the very reason he had come to meet Shiva was to learn martial arts.

And without question, he thought this would take longer.

Unlike Vacuum Style, where he only needed to grasp the subtle principle, what Su-ho wanted to learn from Shiva was the perspective and thought process of a sword for the sake of the realm of Unity of Body and Sword.

- There is nothing special about the mindset of a martial artist. It is all about how my body can harm the enemy more powerfully, and how I can get hit with less pain.

“That’s simple?”

- It is simple. For a martial artist who fights with the body, no deeper subtle principle than this is necessary. In truth, the sword is the same, is it not? For swordsmen who cannot put mana into the sword, the sword would be everything, and if the blade breaks during a fight, that is the end. Would it be any different for a martial artist? If an arm or leg breaks during a fight, it is practically almost over. In that sense, shall we first study the human body?

When Shiva waved his hand, a flat diagram of the human body appeared.

- Unity of Body and Sword meant that the sword and body become one, did it not? But the sword and the human body are different starting from their very shapes, are they not? No matter how much you identify them with each other, I think that is a mental and conceptual recognition, not reality. So if you truly want to achieve genuine Unity of Body and Sword, think of your body as spears and blades, and use your body while thinking about which parts are strong and which parts are weak.

“I know all about vital points and things like that too?”

- I mean from the perspective of a martial artist, not from a medical perspective.

“That makes sense.”

Shiva was knowledgeable.

Like a veteran doctor, he taught him not only the vital points of the body, but also all the weak and strong places in the body that could be utilized as a martial artist. Su-ho, too, heard it once, remembered all of it, and applied it.

- You are smart.

“Because it’s me.”

- Then the rough theory is finished. What remains now is learning by directly clashing with the body.

Shiva took a stance.

- My heart is pounding. I have been counting the days until the day would come when I could fight you like this, looking straight at each other. Of course, it would have been better under equal conditions, but now, even if I wanted us to be equal, your position has become so far above mine that I cannot tell you how sad I am. Still, on this opportunity, let us clash once as martial artist against martial artist.

“Sounds good. Without using mana or skills, right?”

- Of course.

It was a good proposal.

And it was even better because the one making that proposal was Shiva.

Because Su-ho, just as Shiva had thought, had also wanted to face him in this way at least once someday if the conditions aligned.

‘Before, my status was far too low.’

Back when he had not even known the true identity of Transcendents, he had barely pierced a gap with Soul Cutting and ended the fight.

Even that had not been because he had landed an effective hit, but a fight that ended almost as if Shiva had let him, and it had not even been real combat, but inside Infinity.

Moreover, what he liked most of all was that the opponent fought barehanded.

‘If it had been Master, he would have definitely picked up a sword.’

I have not even fully grasped Unity of Body and Sword yet, and I did not particularly want to realize that process while getting my arms and legs cut by a blade.

According to Sword Demon’s claim, the process of learning while shedding blood, sweat, and tears would certainly help more with mastery, but that man would clearly tell me to self-heal unless I died with my neck cut off.

- I am coming.

At that moment, Shiva, who had finished preparing, leaped in an instant and dashed toward Su-ho.

Kwaaaaang!!

He did not use a skill.

But the movement from just now, stretching in a straight line, was clearly Line, and the fist he thrust out became Point and struck.

Su-ho did not dodge and crossed both arms to block it.

It throbbed, but it was not to the point he could not endure it.

At that moment, Shiva spoke as if scolding him.

- Do not block like that. You said your goal was Unity of Body and Sword, did you not? Would you have blocked like that even if your arms were blades? The sword you mainly use was not a broad greatsword either. Do it as you would when using a blade. You do not block attacks with the flat of your blade.

“Ah.”

A point he had not expected.

The corner of his mouth rose.

As expected, it was good that I changed teachers.

Kwaang!

The attack came in again.

The two clashed.

Their movements did not leave Point, Line, and Plane.

Point and Line, in particular, were the main ones.

That was Shiva’s consideration.

One could draw a plane even with a sword, but what was used more often than that was the act of thrusting and cutting.

In other words, Point and Line.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He focused every nerve.

He hypnotized himself.

I am a sword.

I am a blade.

I am a spear.

Thinking that, he moved, and whether attacking or blocking, he abandoned his usual habits as much as possible.

Because at this moment, he was a sword and a blade.

How much time passed like that?

Neither of the two was tired.

To begin with, both of them were beings who had surpassed the realm beyond human.

Perhaps that was why.

After a fair amount of time passed, a smile hung on Shiva’s lips.

- Now you are finally moving a little like spears and blades.

He did not answer.

Instead, he responded by raising the corner of his mouth.

Praise makes even whales dance.

It was definitely a different style from Sword Demon.

So he moved even more enjoyably.

Because when someone has always been with a strict and frightening person and then is with a gentle and soft person, the heart becomes comfortable without them even realizing it.

That was why, while exchanging fists with him, it even made him imagine how it would have been if Shiva had been Sword Demon instead.

It was when another long while had passed like that.

Kwaaaaang!!

Su-ho’s fist exploded against Shiva.

As usual, Shiva tried to knock Su-ho’s fist away with his forearm, as though striking it away with a blade, but failed.

It was because Su-ho’s fist was too strong.

So he used Line and retreated straight backward as if sliding.

The abnormal movement of sliding as if skating was possible because he was a user of Line.

Shiva looked at his own forearm, which had bent at a right angle.

The arm became straight again and self-healed.

Because Shiva was a god who also knew how to heal.

After finishing his recovery, Shiva said,

- That attack just now was good.

“We should continue, right?”

- No, I do not think there is any need for that anymore.

“Why?”

- In truth, your movements themselves completely reached the realm of spears and blades from a certain moment onward. Even so, the reason I kept watching was that I wondered whether that movement might have been a coincidence, so I checked continuously.

“So, did it continue?”

- Yes, certainly. And the proof is this.

Shiva showed his healed arm.

“Didn’t I just land an effective hit?”

- It is different. An attack like just now, you tried it many times while sparring with me. But why do you think my arm, which had been fine until now, broke only just now?

“Well?”

- It seems you did not recognize it. The fist you thrust toward me became not a simple fist for one instant, but spears and blades. To be precise, the thrust of spears and blades. Your body recognized it that way and moved, and at the same time, mana was overlaid before you were conscious of it.

“......!”

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

The difference Sword Demon had shown him.

It had manifested unconsciously without him even knowing it.

So he laughed without realizing it.

“Then it worked?”

- That is right. It worked. You achieved the purpose for which you came to find me.

“Thank you. It is all thanks to you.”

- In truth, I am nothing more than a side branch. You were the one who looked at yourself objectively and found the teacher you needed, so in a way, this can be seen as a result that you almost achieved yourself.

As expected of Shiva.

He was kind and gentle.

Then Shiva added what came next.

- So, that being said, there is something I would like to ask of you.

“Say anything. If it is something I can grant, I will grant all of it.”

- Later, when you have time, come learn the remaining forms as well.

At those words, the corner of Su-ho’s mouth rose.

“Why? Is it disappointing?”

- It is disappointing. At the same time, I have become curious. What kind of result will come out if my Vacuum Style is added to the path of martiality you pursue? You are such a coveted incarnation. To the point that I feel jealous of the one teaching you swordsmanship. But you were a swordsman from the beginning, and I am a stone that rolled in, with no confidence that I can dislodge the stone already lodged there. Because I know how much you love swordsmanship. So I am asking for companionship. You are a being who must set out on a long road and fight endlessly. I have come to want to place my Vacuum Style upon that majestic and vast path.

Shiva’s eyes sparkled brightly.

That was purity.

He was jealous too, but he had given up early on what could not be, and even if only as a second-best choice, wanted to satisfy his own curiosity and desire.

Su-ho also saw sincerity in his words.

“Good.”

So he did not refuse.

It was partly because he respected Shiva’s will, but more than that, it was for a more fundamental reason.

“My foundation and capital are swordsmanship, but I respect your opinion too. The more strength one has, the better.”

It was not something like blood magic or Dragon Words.

Swordsmanship and fist arts were both unique technical domains of humanity, trained by humankind in order to grow stronger.

Spear arts were the same.

They were like siblings, with many things that resembled each other, and Su-ho, too, had tried to learn them in this life through the Rune of Succession in order to make up for what his swordsmanship lacked.

His expectations had hit the mark, and for Unity of Body and Sword, he had received great help from Shiva and fist arts.

At Su-ho’s positive answer, Shiva clasped his fist in salute.

- I thank you for accepting.

Finally, having completed his role, Shiva disappeared from the place.

Su-ho did not return home and headed straight for the Sword Demon Realm.

There, Sword Demon was sitting on a chair without a backrest, waiting for Su-ho.

- Your eyes are good.

“I did it.”

- I believed in you. That is why I deliberately did not watch and waited.

Sword Demon rose from his seat and drew his sword.

It was the sword that had cut Su-ho several thousand times.

- Then shall we see the result of your effort?