Chapter: 05
The Sword Saint's deadly warning.
A single misstep could cost him his life.
But to Cheon Woo-jin, it was the opposite—a golden opportunity.
As long as the Sword Saint's attention was on him, it also meant he was, paradoxically, under the man’s protection.
“Uncle, can you reserve a training hall for me?”
On the way back to the annex, Woo-jin made the request to Chief Kim.
Not just to prepare for the task given to him, but also because his newly transformed body—freed from the Heavenly Curse—needed proper conditioning.
Chief Kim looked like he wanted to say something but ended up quietly nodding.
The next day, Woo-jin stepped into the reserved training hall dressed in a training uniform.
“Whoa. This is insane.”
True to its reputation as a prestigious Hunter clan, even the standard training facilities------------------
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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of the Heavenly Sword House were so high-spec it made him want to curse—in awe.
Clearly designed for Hunter use, the walls were reinforced with magical defenses, and the floor was inscribed with various arcane formulas.
The hall was fully stocked with the latest training equipment—strength machines for Hunters, endurance systems, and even virtual simulation pods.
‘Even the training center at Hyeonwoldan was pretty advanced, but this doesn’t even compare.’
It had been twenty years since his time as a Black Agent, and in that time, Hunter training tech had evolved by leaps and bounds.
Woo-jin looked silently at the cutting-edge gear before suddenly turning away and heading to a quiet corner of the training hall.
Almost all of the modern equipment was built to collect data—Which meant, the moment he used them, that data would be transmitted to the Heavenly Sword House.
If it reached Cheon Oh-hyuk—the most powerful heir within the main bloodline—he could easily access Woo-jin’s entire training log.
‘Revealing your hand to the enemy first… is the dumbest thing you can do.’
Woo-jin didn’t touch the machines.
Instead, he took his stance directly on the training hall floor.
“Huuu.”
Taking a deep breath, he began warming up his body.
Then, he started running laps around the hall.
It looked like ordinary running—except for one thing: No breathing.
He was running while completely holding his breath.
The Hyeonwoldan, the secret organization he once belonged to, was made up of specialists with physical capabilities far beyond that of average Hunters.
They were required to master not just firearms and melee weapons, but also physical stamina, mental discipline, and advanced combat tactics.
As the top agent of Hyeonwoldan, Woo-jin’s expertise in body conditioning was second to none.
He ran several full-speed laps without breathing.
His face turned beet red, his lungs shrank, and his heart pounded violently.
This was torture-level training.
But then—Woo-jin noticed something strange.
‘Why haven’t I collapsed?’
He should’ve passed out before completing ten laps.
He felt like he was dying… and yet, his body endured this absurdly punishing workout.
Pushing through the pain, he completed over a hundred laps without breathing, before finally stopping to gasp for air.
“HUUUUUAAAH!”
As he inhaled deeply, Woo-jin fully grasped the terrifying power of the SS-rank awakened trait, Heavenly Martial Physique, literally a physique blessed by the heavens.
Instead of exhaustion, what filled his face was a thrill of joy.
He had gained the perfect opportunity to test out every training method he had only imagined in the past.
“I’ll analyze and punish my body step by step until I can draw out 100% of its capabilities.”
With a crazed glint in his eye, Woo-jin examined his own body like a scientist preparing an experiment from hell.
Finishing the no-breathing run, he called for the weaponry Chief Kim had prepared in advance.
Thud!
As he lowered the box of weapons to the floor, it landed with a heavy thump.
Opening it revealed a neatly arranged set of weapons—all top-grade, unlike anything he’d handled in his previous life.
‘This must be what it means to be a Heavenly Sword House heir.’
He pulled out a combat knife first and gave it a swing.
Whoosh!
In his past life, his codename was Blade Fiend.
Seo Woo-jin, the only Unawakened in the Hyeonwoldan, had risen to become a top-tier agent through sheer skill alone, earning that name.
Whoosh—Whirl!
Before he knew it, he was juggling not just the knife, but also a machete and a small hand axe with expert control.
He even disassembled and reassembled a firearm, and had to admire himself for a moment.
He’d been curious whether his old instincts would carry over into this new body—and the results far exceeded his expectations.
‘My senses are on a whole different level compared to my past life.’
Even with unfamiliar weapons, after handling them just a few times, his body instinctively identified the most efficient way to wield them.
It was truly talent of a divine level.
Just then, a message flashed before his eyes:
[You have acquired the skill: ‘Weapon Mastery’.]
After swinging a few weapons, he’d unlocked a new skill.
He tapped the message, which explained: A skill that enables you to expertly wield all forms of weaponry.
This was the terrifying thing about the Heavenly Sword House’s bloodline.
Skills emerged naturally in sync with one's awakened constitution, allowing exponential growth in a short period.
‘Insane. This talent is utterly insane.’
Now he understood why the Heavenly Sword House stood at the pinnacle of all Hunter families and why their bloodline was called great.
After adapting instantly to all kinds of weapons, Woo-jin finally picked up a training sword.
He’d felt it with the knife and machete too, but when he gripped a sword, his senses became sharp and hyper-aware.
The connection between his arm and the blade felt so natural, as if they were one and the same.
He stepped forward.
BOOM.
Just one step shook the entire training hall.
“Hoo.”
With another deep breath, Woo-jin took one more step forward—
Boom!
The training hall trembled once again.
Cheon Woo-jin hadn’t even intentionally circulated his inner energy—yet his strength was instinctively distributed, and his body moved faster than conscious thought.
Without swinging his sword, he took another step forward.
Boom...!
This time, the echo was even deeper.
“This isn’t it.”
He wasn't simply stepping forward.
In his mind, the image of the Sword Saint appeared—standing still with a wooden sword, then appearing before him in an instant, as if he had blinked out of existence.
But Woo-jin had seen it.
He’d clearly observed the subtle, almost mystical essence embedded in that one simple step.
“That one step… it might be the core of the Heavenly Sword House’s swordsmanship.”
The reason the name Heavenly Sword was placed before the Cheon Clan—was because their sword struck before one even knew it had been drawn.
The famed, elusive swordsmanship that carved the opponent before the slash was even seen.
Woo-jin was convinced the essence of that swordsmanship lay within that single step the Sword Saint had taken.
And if he couldn’t replicate that step, it might explain why the Sword Saint had told him he’d die by his sword.
Boom!
The hall echoed again with a similar sound.
Tens, hundreds, thousands of times—
Woo-jin stepped forward again and again.
BOOM…!
With each step, the vibration grew clearer and louder.
His exceptional body automatically adjusted, optimizing its posture for slashing immediately after stepping.
Soon, his quick-draw sword technique form reached the level of a seasoned master.
Whoosh!
He stepped and slashed in one motion.
Believing this was the Sword Saint’s intended challenge, Woo-jin focused on channeling his full force into each strike following the step.
But with each echo reverberating through the hall, he shook his head.
“This isn’t it.”
When the Sword Saint had stepped forward, there hadn’t been a sound.
No vibration.
It wasn’t that the step caused a sound—it devoured sound.
“No known sword art moves like this. Not from domestic guilds, nor the Chinese Yinling Guild’s swordsmanship, or even the Indian Nagakshatra Guild’s blade arts. Not even the Ranger Sword Techniques of the U.S. Leonhart Guild.”
Most martial arts rely on firm steps—to transfer maximum force.
But this step… it was fundamentally different.
"No firm step? Then what is it?”
The step wasn’t to deliver power into a strike.
It was to approach the opponent.
Suddenly, something clicked in Woo-jin’s mind.
“Could it be…?”
His entire approach had been wrong from the start.
The Sword Saint hadn’t swung his sword at all—
He had simply stepped forward.
Sword in hand, Woo-jin stood at the center of the hall and relaxed his posture.
He let his arms hang loose, the sword pointing downward, and simply stood still.
Then, he took one step forward—slowly.
Tap.
A light sound came from his foot.
Completely different from the overwhelming echoes from before.
Still unsatisfied, he took another step.
Tok.
Even quieter than before.
He stood in silence for a moment, lost in thought.
Then, he stored away the Seven Star Sacred Sword into his inventory.
Now unarmed, Woo-jin let both arms dangle limply and stood still at the center of the training hall.
He did nothing. Just stood there.
And gradually, his still figure seemed to blend into the hall’s surroundings—becoming part of the space.
Then, he took a step.
Tchac—
His body vanished and reappeared several meters ahead, without a sound.
It was a short distance, but his movement clearly resembled that of the Sword Saint—utterly silent.
He returned to his previous spot and stood even longer this time.
Then stepped again.
Shhk—
He moved farther than before, again with no sound.
“This is it.”
Woo-jin finally understood the essence of the Sword Saint’s step.
“To think the core of the Heavenly Sword House’s swordsmanship… is rooted in an assassin’s movement. Unbelievable.”
For the clan known for producing the greatest swordsmen of all Hunter families, this revelation was shocking.
And yet, it was the field Woo-jin was most familiar with.
In his past life, he had been part of the Hyeonwoldan, a black-ops group operating directly under the Hunter Association President.
Even as an Unawakened, Woo-jin had completed top-tier assignments with overwhelming efficiency.
His greatest talent: assassination.
To endure, to wait, to erase his presence, and strike in that one fleeting instant.
To Woo-jin, who had once mastered the assassin’s blade within Hyeonwoldan, the Sword Saint’s movements were instantly recognizable.
That’s why he’d doubted at first.
But now he was certain.
“The swordsmanship of the Heavenly Sword House is based on assassin’s blade techniques.”
No sound. No trace.
The essence of the assassin’s sword was to reach the target undetected.
And that was what the Sword Saint’s step had revealed.
Closing his eyes, Woo-jin returned to the center of the hall.
He erased his breath.
Erased his presence.
And finally, erased even himself.
Cheon Woo-jin’s very existence began to fade—and he stepped forward.
No sound. No presence.
He reappeared on the opposite end of the hall.
It was an exact replica of the Sword Saint’s movement.
A message appeared before his eyes:
[Skill “Shadowless Step” has been acquired.]
[Through exceptional talent, “Shadowless Step” is evolving.]
[Skill “Shadowless Step” has evolved into “Ghost Shadow Step”.]
“Ghost Shadow Step?”
Originally, it meant a step that left no shadow—but now, it meant a step like that of a ghost.
He wasn’t sure exactly what the difference was, but he suspected it came from a mix of his past life’s Black Agent experience and his current Heavenly Martial Physique constitution.
The only question was how the Sword Saint would interpret this.
“I’ll find out soon enough.”
And so, Cheon Woo-jin’s silent footsteps filled the training hall.
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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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