Soul Summoning Sword Spirit

Chapter 9: Training the Sword Spirit (4)

A month had passed since Gugwi joined the Cold Wolf Sect.

As summer arrived, the chilly morning air turned into a refreshing breeze.

At dawn, Gugwi quietly settled into place inside the cave dwelling.

Since he began learning the Soul-Summoning Arts, he had not missed a single early morning training session.

Before the first rooster crowed, he was already seated inside the cave.

‘I have to follow the Cold Wolf Sect’s methods here…’

He braced his mind firmly.

Using the Illusory Name Command made it easy to open the Gate of the Realm of the Threshold. However, over the past month, he had come to realize something by observing the Cold Wolf Sect's Soul-Summoners.

They had no knowledge of the Illusory Name Command.

Most of them feared the darkness of the Realm of the Threshold. The terror of death weighed down on them. Unlike Gugwi, they made no effort to enter the Realm of the Threshold. They focused only on summoning their own spirits to wield power.

If Gugwi said he floated comfortably inside the Realm of the Threshold, they would give him strange looks. Even his relentless efforts would seem odd to them.

So he pretended to be lax on the outside. He acted like he was going through the motions, laughing and mingling with his peers. But once inside the cave, he poured his full effort into training.

He could never reveal his father’s Illusory Name Command in front of others.

In the Cold Wolf Sect, they had to follow their own methods—becoming intoxicated by medicine, trembling in fear, and contacting the Realm of the Threshold.

He sat on the straw-covered floor.

A small incense burner emitted acrid smoke as herbs burned.

As he inhaled the smoke deeply, his lungs grew warm. His head spun, and his consciousness became hazy like mist.

The smoke danced in bizarre forms under the light.

Illusions, hallucinations began. And a part of his mind entered the Realm of the Threshold, the spiritual world where dead spirits lingered.

Gugwi closed his eyes and steadied his breath as he knocked on the gate of the Realm of the Threshold.

Darkness enveloped his body.

It was as if he had sunk into deep water—everything around him heavy and silent.

He could feel the wall of the Realm of the Threshold. The fear of death blocked his path like a solid wall. That wall was clear like a frozen lake yet unbreakable.

Beyond it stretched a boundless darkness.

He tried to pierce through and step inside, but lacked the strength. He could only hover around the outer edge of the wall.

A faint tremor brushed his fingertips, but no spirit revealed itself.

Gugwi gasped and opened his eyes.

Sweat beaded on his forehead.

As he wiped it away, he murmured,

‘Still not enough…’

Yun Seoha stood at the center of the training ground, watching Gugwi.

Her sharp eyes missed none of his actions.

Gugwi’s persistent effort and hidden potential were evident to anyone. But Yun Seoha sensed there was something about him that couldn’t be explained by effort alone.

A remarkable ability to overcome the fear of the Realm of the Threshold.

‘Could he be… the Gatekeeper’s bloodline?’

From the beginning, Gugwi had drawn her attention. She had observed him ever since.

Every day for the past month, he inhaled the herb smoke at dawn in the cave and knocked on the gate of the Realm of the Threshold. While other beginners trembled in fear and hesitated, Gugwi silently repeated his practice.

The fear evoked by the Realm of the Threshold was far more terrifying than a blade at one’s throat.

To endure such fear so calmly was not something mere willpower could achieve.

Yun Seoha recognized that Gugwi possessed a unique ability. She couldn’t yet be certain what it was.

Her dark pupils, deep as a bottomless pool, stared at Gugwi.

“Is your relentless training because of your father’s grudge?”

“That’s one of the reasons.”

“What’s the other?”

“Since I’ve become a Soul-Summoner, I want to overcome fear quickly. It’s something I’ll have to face anyway.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph! Want some advice? You’re bad at lying. It shows all over your face.”

Yun Seoha smiled and added,

“Especially Soul-Summoners— we read expressions well.”

“……”

Gugwi kept his mouth shut. He felt that saying anything more would let his secrets slip out.

Yun Seoha turned her head and said,

“Prepare to move on to the second stage of Initial Contact.”

“What? Already to the second stage?”

“Why, don’t want to?”

“No! I’ll do it.”

Gugwi replied quickly.

Usually, one spent a year in the first stage of Initial Contact—advancing in just one month was a drastic decision.

News spread that Gugwi had advanced to the second stage of Initial Contact just one month after entering the Cold Wolf Sect.

Whispers buzzed within and outside the training ground.

“Only a month? It usually takes a year!”

“That guy… isn’t something fishy going on?”

Envious eyes turned toward Gugwi.

Jin Hoon’s jealousy, in particular, burned like fire.

He ground his teeth in a corner of the training ground, muttering,

“He’s suspicious, no doubt. Make one mistake, and I’ll take him out myself.”

Gangro, one of Jin Hoon’s lackeys, spoke up beside him.

He was a short man with sharp eyes, skilled in pleasing Jin Hoon.

But this time, he made a mistake.

“I think Yeon Sohye is helping Gugwi prepare for the second stage…”

Gangro’s eyes sparkled as he continued,

“What if the two start falling for each other?”

Jin Hoon’s gaze turned icy. His voice was cold as ice.

“Shut up. Want to die?”

He glared at Gangro with fury.

Gangro’s face turned pale as he quickly lowered his head.

“Just joking, hyung-nim!”

Jin Hoon breathed heavily and clenched his fists.

His rage toward Gugwi boiled even hotter.

***

That night, Yeon Sohye visited Gugwi’s room.

She quietly closed the door and approached, wearing a brighter smile than usual.

“So soon to this stage… I told you to hide your abilities.”

Gugwi lifted his gaze and looked at her.

“I didn’t reveal anything… The instructor just decided it himself.”

There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

Yeon Sohye smiled gently and continued speaking.

“Well, the Seven Cold Wolves aren’t just anyone. Still, congratulations. Advancing to this stage in just a month—no one has ever progressed that fast.”

Gugwi murmured with a slight lift at the corner of his mouth.

“Maybe I stood out too much.”

His chest felt heavy. Although he was glad to have advanced, the attention weighed on him.

Yeon Sohye nodded.

“It can’t be helped. From now on, we’re going to the secret underground training hall. You can go right away, right?”

Gugwi raised his eyebrows.

“Secret underground training hall? There’s a place other than the cave dwelling?”

Sohye nodded firmly with determined eyes.

“There is. We're heading there now.”

There was force in her voice.

“That’s where you’ll learn true Soul-Summoning Arts. It will also be the first step in finding your lifelong spirit.”

She opened the door and beckoned him to follow.

Gugwi hesitated for a moment. The weight of a new training ground and spirit search pressed down on his shoulders.

It felt like stepping into an unknown world. For the first time since arriving at the Cold Wolf Sect, he felt a subtle thrill.

He steadied his breath and followed her.

They descended deep underground beneath the Soul Hall.

The stairs were damp, and slippery with moss.

“Watch your step.”

In the darkness, only the lantern in Yeon Sohye’s hand lit the way.

The flame cast strange patterns on the wall. Droplets of water fell from the ceiling, echoing quietly.

The training hall was a spiritual passage connected to the Realm of the Threshold.

The intense energy here was incomparable to the cave dwelling. The air pressed heavily, squeezing his breath, and invisible currents spread like waves, tingling his skin.

Gugwi felt his whole body prickle and faintly heard the whispers of spirits.

He inhaled deeply.

The training hall was a wide, shadowy space.

Along the walls stood rows of ancient stone graves.

Each grave was made of rough stone, with faint patterns carved on their surfaces.

Gugwi stopped walking and swallowed his breath.

He saw several Soul-Summoners seated in front of the graves.

They had their eyes closed and continuously murmured something, in spirit contact with the dead.

Their faces were pale.

Their eyes were empty yet held deep darkness within.

A faint blue glow radiated from their bodies, and their robes lightly fluttered as if stirred by invisible wind.

Gugwi felt a chill down his spine from their presence.

“Why are there so many graves here?”

Surprised by the sight resembling an underground graveyard, Gugwi asked.

Yeon Sohye quietly opened her mouth.

“These graves were collected from across the world by the Cold Wolf Sect.”

Gugwi narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

“Collected… you mean grave-robbing?”

“That’s right. We secretly stole the corpses of martial artists.”

“What… how could you…?”

Gugwi was so shocked he couldn’t speak.

Sohye’s voice dropped heavily.

“You made spirit contact in General Madal’s grave too, didn’t you? In the Initial Contact stage, you can’t connect without a grave.”

She sighed and continued.

“It’s unjust, but there’s no other way to safely learn Soul-Summoning.”

“Did the Heavenly Sound Cult do this too?”

There was horror in Gugwi’s voice.

“They’re worse. They even steal the bodies of the living.”

Yeon Sohye’s voice trailed off faintly.

Gugwi’s chest turned cold as he looked again at the graves.

Such actions by Soul-Summoners must have drawn the Murim’s hostility. Yet now the Cold Wolf Sect, under the Murim Alliance’s protection, carried them out. Serving as their hands.

He clenched his fists tightly.

Sohye gently tapped his shoulder.

“The true purpose of the Cold Wolf Sect is to cultivate Soul-Summoners stronger than the Heavenly Sound Cult—to keep them in check.”

Gugwi repeated her words inwardly and nodded.

The Realm of the Threshold was a place where spirits lingered, a conduit through which their power flowed into the mortal world.

If that balance were broken, the living world would be endangered.

“To achieve that goal, we won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes.”

Yeon Sohye said resolutely.

Yun Seoha entered the training hall.

She began teaching Gugwi his first official martial technique.

“This is the Soul Resonance Technique.”

Gugwi listened closely, looking at her.

“It’s a technique that draws the energy of the Realm of the Threshold into the mortal world and harmonizes it with the power of a spirit.”

When Yun Seoha extended her hand, a blue light shimmered at her fingertips.

Like gentle ripples, the light softly stirred the air.

A subtle glow flowed around her body, creating delicate waves in the air.

Gugwi was captivated by the light and held his breath.

The Soul Resonance Technique resembled his father’s Illusory Name Command but differed in subtle ways.

The Illusory Name Command directly summoned a spirit and fully borrowed its power—like calling upon his father or General Madal and using their martial arts as they were.

But the Soul Resonance Technique drew the spirit’s energy into the mortal world and harmonized it with one’s own soul to borrow strength.

To use an analogy, the spirit’s energy was paint, and one’s soul was the canvas.

The Soul Resonance Technique splashed the paint onto the canvas to create a new image—a new power. One could borrow parts of the spirit’s martial arts to fuse with their inner strength and form a unique technique, or use the spirit’s energy to enhance their physical or mental condition.

‘In that sense… the Soul Resonance Technique is a softer, more natural connection. It’s not forced but cooperative. Instead of fully using the spirit’s martial arts, you reference them.’

Of course, upon reaching the Spiritual Sensitivity stage, the soul becomes more deeply connected with the spirit, allowing new methods of full contact to be learned.

Gugwi organized the differences in his mind, then sat in front of a grave and closed his eyes.

Yun Seoha calmly instructed him.

“Feel the flow of the Realm of the Threshold. Let your body ride its current.”

He took a deep breath and opened his mind.

The darkness of the Realm of the Threshold came upon him like a gentle wave, wrapping his body. Blue light flickered from his fingertips and trembled gently. His heartbeat synchronized with the movements of the spirits.

Gugwi felt a warm, intense energy rise from within.

It wasn’t the same as the fiery energy passed on by his father, but it carried a similar resonance.

His soul began to awaken quietly in preparation for contact.

Yun Seoha pointed at the graves.

“Choose your own grave.”

Gugwi opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Can I know who the grave’s owner is?”

“No. Let your instincts guide you. The spirit there will connect with you.”

Gugwi steadied his breath and stood up.

He slowly walked among the graves.

Faint energies trickled out from each grave, tickling his skin.

Some graves emitted a cold, sharp energy—so cold it froze his fingertips. Others were warm and gentle, lightly stirring his heart.

One grave surged with flame-like energy, while another exuded the serenity of a deep sea.

Gugwi stretched out his hand and slowly walked between the graves.

Then… he suddenly stopped in front of one.

A powerful tremor surged from his fingertips and spread through his whole body. That energy touched his soul so deeply it felt like recovering a lost half—an overwhelming pull.

A perfect match!

It felt like a thread tied since the beginning of time was pulling him.

His heart pounded as he sensed the chain of destiny.

‘This is the one.’

He swallowed hard and knelt before the grave.

A breeze-like energy brushed his face. Within it, he felt the whisper of an unknown spirit.