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Chapter 495 – Just Let Me Hold It Once

Otherwise, I would have died.

I felt a momentary disorientation from Shin Yi’s words.

-That child possesses an energy so colossal. A vast energy that others couldn’t possibly feel.

I took those words and understood them with a vessel of an entirely different scale.

Normally, having a large energy meant something along those lines.

But—

-That’s wrong.

Shin Yi immediately refuted that.

-That child has no vessel at all.

What could that possibly mean? I couldn’t comprehend Shin Yi’s words.

How could there be no vessel—the very source of power that both martial artists and humans possess?

Does that even make sense?

-Yes, that’s exactly the problem. The fact that such a vast energy exists without a vessel.

-You’re too great to be controlled by a vessel, so it started to crack.

-For that child… the problem is that there isn’t even a vessel to begin with.

Not that it’s empty and void, but rather…

It’s too large to grasp.

-So, what do you think will happen then?

I had no idea. I’d never heard of energy existing without a vessel.

-Energy without a vessel tends to disperse. If that happens, what do you think will become of that child, whom we regarded as energy itself?

I couldn’t provide any answers.

I had no idea what state Wi Seol-Ah was in.

-It will scatter.

My best option was to endure the pounding of my heart.

-The physical body will either scatter or collapse.

-I believe this will happen within three years. Though it’s a lot, in reality, nobody knows how long it can withstand. It’s hard to say how that energy is managing to hold on at all.

-That’s why, Sword Sovereign asked me to create a vessel for that child.

While I continued to listen, a word jarred my ears.

Creating a vessel.

What do they mean by that? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be slightly contradictory? Shin Yi had clearly told me that there was no way to repair the vessel.

Right now, the very same Shin Yi who had declared my fate, had now spoken of making a vessel.

When I asked back in disbelief, Shin Yi continued with a somewhat grim expression.

-I can’t say for certain about repairing it, but creating one is not impossible. Just to be clear, this is not within the realm of medicine, so don’t dwell on it.

Creating a vessel.

Then what is the purpose of the Demon Sealing Stone?

-It was for that purpose.

The Demon Sealing Stone is used to make a vessel?

Was it used to seal Wi Seol-Ah’s energy?

-It is impossible to seal away that much energy. The role of the Demon Sealing Stone is indeed sealing, but it wasn’t for the energy itself.

Then what could it be? What was it sealing? Answering my queries, Shin Yi revealed.

-The Demon Sealing Stone was used to seal the form of the vessel to make sure it doesn’t break.

In other words, the vessel that Wi Seol-Ah currently possesses is an artificial one.

-Now, what do you think the material for that vessel would be?

What could it be? The material to contain such energy… Honestly, I had one suspicion, but…

I hoped it wasn’t the case.

If so, it would be far too massive.

Sadly, my expectations were not off the mark.

-It is the innate ability of a human.

I bit my lip at Shin Yi’s words, which were uttered with a grimace.

Could it be?

-The most suitable material to endure such energy.

That meant they had extracted the innate ability from a human to create the vessel.

But exactly… from whom was this innate ability taken?

Unconsciously furrowing my brows as I stared at Shin Yi, he let out a sigh before replying.

-Don’t worry, I didn’t pull out someone’s innate ability without permission… If you had asked, I would have outright said no.

Then who could it be?

I asked Shin Yi, who answered me with a rather indifferent expression.

-To contain that much energy, it also required a powerful innate ability. Coincidentally, one was right beside us.

Could he be referring to…

-The Clan Leader.

I swallowed hard at Shin Yi’s words.

-They used his innate ability to create that child’s vessel.

My mouth slightly opened in disbelief.

I never imagined the Sword Sovereign would go that far.

If the source of a human’s power is the vessel, then the innate ability is the source of life itself.

The Sword Sovereign poured his innate ability into Wi Seol-Ah.

If that’s the case then, what happens to the Sword Sovereign’s condition?

Given his survival from the Heavenly Demon Great War in a previous life, he wouldn’t die immediately, but…

-Losing an innate ability isn’t a permanent drain… but it’s likely the Clan Leader won’t be in great shape.

The fact that the Sword Sovereign’s power would significantly weaken is a reality.

Furthermore, if they created a vessel using such innate ability, how secure would that vessel be?

-I’ve mentioned, but that too is only a temporary measure.

Shin Yi negated that as expected.

-Like you, he would need to consume medicine to maintain his state.

And if he doesn’t?

-I don’t know what method you used to recreate the vessel… but since you and that child are in different situations, I doubt the results will be favorable.

That was bitter to hear.

It simply meant that Wi Seol-Ah was still in a perilous state.

-However, as you said, if the vessel has been altered on its own… I can’t say for sure either. Exceptions have emerged.

That didn’t instill confidence but suspicion instead.

Even so, the situation hadn’t improved.

‘… What should I do?’

I hastily moved forward, thinking.

After concluding my conversation with Shin Yi, I first stepped outside. He mentioned he would give me the White Horse Stone later when checking my health.

I realized that Wi Seol-Ah had been secretly taking medicine and learned about her condition, but…

There was no way to help her.

I couldn’t shake the thought that it might not be the same as my vessel shattering and changing.

‘Does the artificial vessel fall under that as well?’

Could this also apply to Wi Seol-Ah, who had initially possessed no vessel?

I didn’t know.

Had the Divine Sword in my previous life faced such a situation too?

Most likely.

It probably meant…

‘Jang Seonyeon, that bastard must have been trying to blackmail me with this.’

I gritted my teeth, recalling how he had approached me threateningly with Wi Seol-Ah’s condition.

Damn it. No matter how much my power has increased, the fundamental issue seems unchanged.

That was infuriating.

‘I need to run faster.’

I had to push myself harder.

I would grind and grind until I produce results. It had to be done.

[Calm down. You’re too worked up.]

Shin Noya cautioned me. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes.

As he said, I felt I was far too overheated. If I stayed this heated, it could lead to an even worse situation, so I applied a bet to cool my emotions.

Thus, I felt a bit better.

‘… Thank you.’

After thanking Noya, I turned to check on those following behind. I had barely enough stamina to finish one task, let alone think of another.

Right now, I was moving together with others.

Among them, I noticed Woo Hyeok and asked.

“… What’s that you have?”

“Uh-huh?”

As he executed his swift movements, he was carrying something on his shoulder.

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a wild boar.

Hearing my question, Woo Hyeok beamed and explained.

“Oh, this? A gift from my Master.”

“… A wild boar?”

“My Master loves wild boar meat.”

“…”

His words caused my eyebrows to furrow.

Aren’t you supposed to be a martial artist? Why do you keep eating meat…?

I wanted to scream that out, but I barely held back.

This crazy guy had acted strange many times before, so it wasn’t surprising if his Master was odd as well.

I decided to just give up. That felt easier.

Letting out a slight sigh, I observed Woo Hyeok beside me.

There was another person there—Nangong Bi-ah.

Noticing Nangong Bi-ah following me with her usual sleepy expression, I asked.

“Why are you following us?”

She locked eyes with me as I inquired.

“… Is that not allowed…?”

Her characteristic dazed voice echoed.

“No, it’s not that… I’m not even sure if it’s okay.”

I tried to assure her it wasn’t a problem but ended up changing my words as I wasn’t that confident.

I was currently heading to meet Gwaeseon with Woo Hyeok.

Gwaeseon had suggested we meet first as we had yet to discuss everything.

But could I really take Nangong Bi-ah along for this?

While preparing to meet Gwaeseon, Nangong Bi-ah had started to follow me, declaring she wanted to tag along.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t asked Woo Hyeok if that was alright.

In response to my thoughts, Woo Hyeok spoke with an unconcerned expression.

“It should be okay. My Master isn’t one to fuss over such matters.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

The fact that Gwaeseon was a Taesaeng of the Nangong Clan gave me a little pause.

If there was no problem at home, they wouldn’t have left and joined Wudang like that…

‘She said not to worry too much, so it should be okay, right?’

Considering Gwaeseon’s previous words, I decided to think that it would likely be fine.

But.

Just as always.

There was not a single event that unfolded as I anticipated.

 

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